,,the ,,yellow ,,book ,an ,illustrated ,quarterly ,volume ,i ,april #ahid ,illustration3 ,magazine ,cover ,london3 ,elkin ,mathews ,john ,lane ,contents ,letterpress ,i4 ,the ,death of the ,lion ,by ,henry ,james ,page #g ,,ii4 ,tree-,worship ,richard ,le ,gallienne #eg ,,iii4 ,a ,defence of ,cosmetics ,max ,beerbohm #fe ,,iv4 ,daimonizomenos ,arthur ,christopher ,benson #hc ,v4 ,irremediable ,ella ,d',arcy #hg ,,vi4 ,the ,frontier ,william ,watson #aac ,,vii4 ,night on ,curbar ,edge ,,viii4 ,a ,sentimental ,cellar ,george ,saintsbury #aai ,,ix4 ,stella ,maris ,arthur ,symons #abi ,x4 ,mercedes ,henry ,harland #ace ,,xi4 ,a ,broken ,looking-,glass ,,xii4 ,alere ,flammam ,edmund ,gosse #aec ,,xiii4 ,a ,dream of ,november ,,xiv4 ,the ,dedication ,fred ,m4 ,simpson #aei ,,xv4 ,a ,lost ,masterpiece ,george ,egerton #ahi ,,xvi4 ,reticence in ,literature ,arthur ,waugh #bja ,,xvii4 ,modern ,melodrama ,hubert ,crackanthorpe #bbc ,,xviii4 ,london ,john ,davidson #bcc ,,xix4 ,down-a-down ,,xx4 ,the ,love-,story of ,luigi ,richard ,garnett1 ,,ll4,d4 #bce ,tansillo ,,xxi4 ,the ,fool's ,hour ,john ,oliver ,hobbes #bec and ,george ,moore ,pictures ,i4 ,a ,study ,by ,sir ,frederic ,leighton1 ,p4,r4,a4 ,frontispiece ,,ii4 ,l',education ,sentimentale ,aubrey ,beardsley ,page #ee ,,iii4 ,le ,puy en ,velay ,joseph ,pennell #fc ,,iv4 ,the ,old ,oxford ,music ,hall ,walter ,sickert #he ,v4 ,portrait of a ,gentleman ,will ,rothenstein #aaa ,,vi4 ,the ,reflected ,faun ,laurence ,housman #aag ,,vii4 ,night ,piece ,aubrey ,beardsley #abg ,,viii4 ,a ,study ,sir ,frederic ,leighton1 ,p4,r4,a4 #acc ,,ix4 ,portrait of a ,lady ,will ,rothenstein #aea ,x4 ,portrait of ,mrs4 ,patrick ,aubrey ,beardsley #aeg ,campbell ,,xi4 ,the ,head of ,minos ,j4 ,t4 ,nettleship #ahg ,,xii4 ,portrait of a ,lady ,charles ,w4 ,furse #aii ,,xiii4 ,a ,lady ,reading ,walter ,sickert #bba ,,xiv4 ,a ,book ,plate ,aubrey ,beardsley #bea ,,xv4 ,a ,book ,plate ,r4 ,anning ,bell #bea ,illustration3 ,the ,yellow ,book ,an ,illustrated ,quarterly ,volume ,i ,april #ahid ,london3 ,elkin ,mathews ,john ,lane ,boston3 ,copeland ,day ,ballantyne ,press ,london ,edinburgh ,a ,study ,by ,sir ,frederic ,leighton1 ,p4,r4,a4 ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,a ,study ,the ,death of the ,lion ,by ,henry ,james ,i ,i had simply1 ,i suppose1 a change of heart1 and it must have begun when ,i received my manuscript back from ,mr4 ,pinhorn4 ,mr4 ,pinhorn was my chief1 as he was called in the office3 he had accepted the high mission of bringing the paper up4 ,this was a weekly periodical1 and had been supposed to be almost past redemption when he took hold of it4 ,it was ,mr4 ,deedy who had let it down so dreadfully--he was never mentioned in the office now save in connection with that misdemeanour4 ,young as ,i was ,i had been in a manner taken over from ,mr4 ,deedy1 who had been owner as well as editor2 forming part of a promiscuous lot1 mainly plant and office-furniture1 which poor ,mrs4 ,deedy1 in her bereavement and depression1 parted with at a rough valuation4 ,i could account for my continuity only on the supposition that ,i had been cheap4 ,i rather resented the practice of fathering all flatness on my late protector1 who was in his unhonoured grave2 but as ,i had my way to make ,i found matter enough for complacency in being on a staff4 ,at the same time ,i was aware that ,i was exposed to suspicion as a product of the old lowering system4 ,this made me feel that ,i was doubly bound to have ideas1 and had doubtless been at the bottom of my proposing to ,mr4 ,pinhorn that ,i should lay my lean hands on ,neil ,paraday4 ,i remember that he looked at me first as if he had never heard of this celebrity1 who indeed at that moment was by no means in the middle of the heavens2 and even when ,i had knowingly explained he expressed but little confidence in the demand for any such matter4 ,when ,i had reminded him that the great principle on which we were supposed to work was just to create the demand we required1 he considered a moment and then rejoined3 ,i see2 you want to write him up4 ,call it that if you like4 ,and what's your inducement8 ,bless my soul--my admiration6 ,mr4 ,pinhorn pursed up his mouth4 ,is there much to be done with him8 ,whatever there is1 we should have it all to ourselves1 for he hasn't been touched4 ,this argument was effective1 and ,mr4 ,pinhorn responded3 ,very well1 touch him4 ,then he added3 ,but where can you do it8 ,under the fifth rib6 ,i laughed4 ,mr4 ,pinhorn stared4 ,where's that8 ,you want me to go down and see him8 ,i inquired1 when ,i had enjoyed his visible search for this obscure suburb4 ,i don't 'want' anything--the proposal's your own4 ,but you must remember that that's the way we do things now1 said ,mr4 ,pinhorn1 with another dig at ,mr4 ,deedy4 ,unregenerate as ,i was1 ,i could read the queer implications of this speech4 ,the present owners superior virtue as well as his deeper craft spoke in his reference to the late editor as one of that baser sort who deal in false representations4 ,mr4 ,deedy would as soon have sent me to call on ,neil ,paraday as he would have published a holiday-number2 but such scruples presented themselves as mere ignoble thrift to his successor1 whose own sincerity took the form of ringing door-bells and whose definition of genius was the art of finding people at home4 ,it was as if ,mr4 ,deedy had published reports without his young men's having1 as ,mr4 ,pinhorn would have said1 really been there4 ,i was unregenerate1 as ,i have hinted1 and ,i was not concerned to straighten out the journalistic morals of my chief1 feeling them indeed to be an abyss over the edge of which it was better not to peer4 ,really to be there this time moreover was a vision that made the idea of writing something subtle about ,neil ,paraday only the more inspiring4 ,i would be as considerate as even ,mr4 ,deedy could have wished1 and yet ,i should be as present as only ,mr4 ,pinhorn could conceive4 ,my allusion to the sequestered manner in which ,mr4 ,paraday lived 7which had formed part of my explanation1 though ,i knew of it only by hearsay7 was1 ,i could divine1 very much what had made ,mr4 ,pinhorn bite4 ,it struck him as inconsistent with the success of his paper that any one should be so sequestered as that4 ,moreover1 was not an immediate exposure of everything just what the public wanted8 ,mr4 ,pinhorn effectually called me to order by reminding me of the promptness with which ,i had met ,miss ,braby at ,liverpool1 on her return from her fiasco in the ,states4 ,hadn't we published1 while its freshness and flavour were unimpaired1 ,miss ,braby's own version of that great international episode8 ,i felt somewhat uneasy at this coupling of the actress and the author1 and ,i confess that after having enlisted ,mr4 ,pinhorn's sympathies ,i procrastinated a little4 ,i had succeeded better than ,i wished1 and ,i had1 as it happened1 work nearer at hand4 ,a few days later ,i called on ,lord ,crouchley and carried off in triumph the most unintelligible statement that had yet appeared of his lordship's reasons for his change of front4 ,i thus set in motion in the daily papers columns of virtuous verbiage4 ,the following week ,i ran down to ,brighton for a chat1 as ,mr4 ,pinhorn called it1 with ,mrs4 ,bounder1 who gave me1 on the subject of her divorce1 many curious particulars that had not been articulated in court4 ,if ever an article flowed from the primal fount it was that article on ,mrs4 ,bounder4 ,by this time1 however1 ,i became aware that ,neil ,paraday's new book was on the point of appearing1 and that its approach had been the ground of my original appeal to ,mr4 ,pinhorn1 who was now annoyed with me for having lost so many days4 ,he bundled me off--we would at least not lose another4 ,i have always thought his sudden alertness a remarkable example of the journalistic instinct4 ,nothing had occurred1 since ,i first spoke to him1 to create a visible urgency1 and no enlightenment could possibly have reached him4 ,it was a pure case of professional flair--he had smelt the coming glory as an animal smells its distant prey4 ,,ii ,i may as well say at once that this little record pretends in no degree to be a picture either of my introduction to ,mr4 ,paraday or of certain proximate steps and stages4 ,the scheme of my narrative allows no space for these things and in any case a prohibitory sentiment would be attached to my recollection of so rare an hour4 ,these meagre notes are essentially private1 and if they see the light the insidious forces that1 as my story itself shows1 make at present for publicity will simply have overmastered my precautions4 ,the curtain fell lately enough on the lamentable drama4 ,my memory of the day ,i alighted at ,mr4 ,paraday's door is a fresh memory of kindness1 hospitality1 compassion1 and of the wonderful illuminating talk in which the welcome was conveyed4 ,some voice of the air had taught me the right moment1 the moment of his life at which an act of unexpected young allegiance might most come home4 ,he had recently recovered from a long1 grave illness4 ,i had gone to the neighbouring inn for the night1 but ,i spent the evening in his company1 and he insisted the next day on my sleeping under his roof4 ,i had not an indefinite leave3 ,mr4 ,pinhorn supposed us to put our victims through on the gallop4 ,it was later1 in the office1 that the step was elaborated and regulated4 ,i fortified myself however1 as my training had taught me to do1 by the conviction that nothing could be more advantageous for my article than to be written in the very atmosphere4 ,i said nothing to ,mr4 ,paraday about it1 but in the morning1 after my removal from the inn1 while he was occupied in his study1 as he had notified me that he should need to be1 ,i committed to paper the quintessence of my impressions4 ,then thinking to commend myself to ,mr4 ,pinhorn by my celerity1 ,i walked out and posted my little packet before luncheon4 ,once my paper was written ,i was free to stay on1 and if it was designed to divert attention from my frivolity in so doing ,i could reflect with satisfaction that ,i had never been so clever4 ,i don't mean to deny of course that ,i was aware it was much too good for ,mr4 ,pinhorn2 but ,i was equally conscious that ,mr4 ,pinhorn had the supreme shrewdness of recognising from time to time the cases in which an article was not too bad only because it was too good4 ,there was nothing he loved so much as to print on the right occasion a thing he hated4 ,i had begun my visit to ,mr4 ,paraday on a ,monday1 and on the ,wednesday his book came out4 ,a copy of it arrived by the first post1 and he let me go out into the garden with it immediately after breakfast4 ,i read it from beginning to end that day1 and in the evening he asked me to remain with him the rest of the week and over the ,sunday4 ,that night my manuscript came back from ,mr4 ,pinhorn1 accompanied with a letter1 of which the gist was the desire to know what ,i meant by sending him such stuff4 ,that was the meaning of the question1 if not exactly its form1 and it made my mistake immense to me4 ,such as this mistake was ,i could now only look it in the face and accept it4 ,i knew where ,i had failed1 but it was exactly where ,i couldn't have succeeded4 ,i had been sent down there to be personal1 and in point of fact ,i hadn't been personal at all2 what ,i had sent up to ,london was merely a little finicking1 feverish study of my author's talent4 ,anything less relevant to ,mr4 ,pinhorn's purpose couldn't well be imagined1 and he was visibly angry at my having 7at his expense1 with a second-class ticket7 approached the object of our arrangement only to be so deucedly distant4 ,for myself1 ,i knew but too well what had happened1 and how a miracle--as pretty as some old miracle of legend--had been wrought on the spot to save me4 ,there had been a big brush of wings1 the flash of an opaline robe1 and then1 with a great cool stir of the air1 the sense of an angel's having swooped down and caught me to his bosom4 ,he held me only till the danger was over1 and it all took place in a minute4 ,with my manuscript back on my hands ,i understood the phenomenon better1 and the reflections ,i made on it are what ,i meant1 at the beginning of this anecdote1 by my change of heart4 ,mr4 ,pinhorn's note was not only a rebuke decidedly stern1 but an invitation immediately to send him 7it was the case to say so7 the genuine article1 the revealing and reverberating sketch to the promise of which--and of which alone--,i owed my squandered privilege4 ,a week or two later ,i recast my peccant paper1 and giving it a particular application to ,mr4 ,paraday's new book1 obtained for it the hospitality of another journal1 where1 ,i must admit1 ,mr4 ,pinhorn was so far justified that it attracted not the least attention4 ,,iii ,i was frankly1 at the end of three days1 a very prejudiced critic1 so that one morning when1 in the garden1 ,neil ,paraday had offered to read me something ,i quite held my breath as ,i listened4 ,it was the written scheme of another book--something he had put aside long ago1 before his illness1 and lately taken out again to reconsider4 ,he had been turning it round when ,i came down upon him1 and it had grown magnificently under this second hand4 ,loose1 liberal1 confident1 it might have passed for a great gossiping1 eloquent letter--the overflow into talk of an artist's amorous plan4 ,the subject ,i thought singularly rich1 quite the strongest he had yet treated2 and this familiar statement of it1 full too of fine maturities1 was really1 in summarised splendour1 a mine of gold1 a precious1 independent work4 ,i remember rather profanely wondering whether the ultimate production could possibly be so happy4 ,his reading of the epistle1 at any rate1 made me feel as if ,i were1 for the advantage of posterity1 in close correspondence with him--were the distinguished person to whom it had been affectionately addressed4 ,it was high distinction simply to be told such things4 ,the idea he now communicated had all the freshness1 the flushed fairness of the conception untouched and untried3 it was ,venus rising from the sea1 before the airs had blown upon her4 ,i had never been so throbbingly present at such an unveiling4 ,but when he had tossed the last bright word after the others1 as ,i had seen cashiers in banks1 weighing mounds of coin1 drop a final sovereign into the tray1 ,i became conscious of a sudden prudent alarm4 ,my dear master1 how1 after all1 are you going to do it8 ,i asked4 ,it's infinitely noble1 but what time it will take1 what patience and independence1 what assured1 what perfect conditions it will demand6 ,oh for a lone isle in a tepid sea6 ,isn't this practically a lone isle1 and aren't you1 as an encircling medium1 tepid enough8 he replied2 alluding with a laugh to the wonder of my young admiration and the narrow limits of his little provincial home4 ,time isn't what ,i've lacked hitherto3 the question hasn't been to find it1 but to use it4 ,of course my illness made a great hole1 but ,i daresay there would have been a hole at any rate4 ,the earth we tread has more pockets than a billiard-table4 ,the great thing is now to keep on my feet4 ,that's exactly what ,i mean4 ,neil ,paraday looked at me with eyes--such pleasant eyes as he had--in which1 as ,i now recall their expression1 ,i seem to have seen a dim imagination of his fate4 ,he was fifty years old1 and his illness had been cruel1 his convalescence slow4 ,it isn't as if ,i weren't all right4 ,oh1 if you weren't all right ,i wouldn't look at you6 ,i tenderly said4 ,we had both got up1 quickened by the full sound of it all1 and he had lighted a cigarette4 ,i had taken a fresh one1 and1 with an intenser smile1 by way of answer to my exclamation1 he touched it with the flame of his match4 ,if ,i weren't better ,i shouldn't have thought of that6 ,he flourished his epistle in his hand4 ,i don't want to be discouraging1 but that's not true1 ,i returned4 ,i'm sure that during the months you lay here in pain you had visitations sublime4 ,you thought of a thousand things4 ,you think of more and more all the while4 ,that's what makes you1 if you will pardon my familiarity1 so respectable4 ,at a time when so many people are spent you come into your second wind4 ,but1 thank ,god1 all the same1 you're better6 ,thank ,god1 too1 you're not1 as you were telling me yesterday1 'successful4' ,if you weren't a failure1 what would be the use of trying8 ,that's my one reserve on the subject of your recovery--that it makes you 'score1' as the newspapers say4 ,it looks well in the newspapers1 and almost anything that does that is horrible4 ',we are happy to announce that ,mr4 ,paraday1 the celebrated author1 is again in the enjoyment of excellent health4' ,somehow ,i shouldn't like to see it4 ,you won't see it2 ,i'm not in the least celebrated--my obscurity protects me4 ,but couldn't you bear even to see ,i was dying or dead8 my companion asked4 ,dead--passe encore2 there's nothing so safe4 ,one never knows what a living artist may do--one has mourned so many4 ,however1 one must make the worst of it2 you must be as dead as you can4 ,don't ,i meet that condition in having just published a book8 ,adequately1 let us hope2 for the book is verily a masterpiece4 ,at this moment the parlour-maid appeared in the door that opened into the garden3 ,paraday lived at no great cost1 and the frisk of petticoats1 with a timorous ,sherry1 sir8 was about his modest mahogany4 ,he allowed half his income to his wife1 from whom he had succeeded in separating without redundancy of legend4 ,i had a general faith in his having behaved well1 and ,i had once1 in ,london1 taken ,mrs4 ,paraday down to dinner4 ,he now turned to speak to the maid1 who offered him1 on a tray1 some card or note1 while agitated1 excited1 ,i wandered to the end of the garden4 ,the idea of his security became supremely dear to me1 and ,i asked myself if ,i were the same young man who had come down a few days before to scatter him to the four winds4 ,when ,i retraced my steps he had gone into the house and the woman 7the second ,london post had come in7 had placed my letters and a newspaper on a bench4 ,i sat down there to the letters1 which were a brief business1 and then1 without heeding the address1 took the paper from its envelope4 ,it was the journal of highest renown1 ,the ,empire of that morning4 ,it regularly came to ,paraday1 but ,i remembered that neither of us had yet looked at the copy already delivered4 ,this one had a great mark on the editorial page1 and1 uncrumpling the wrapper1 ,i saw it to be directed to my host and stamped with the name of his publishers4 ,i instantly divined that ,the ,empire had spoken of him1 and ,i have not forgotten the odd little shock of the circumstance4 ,it checked all eagerness and made me drop the paper a moment4 ,as ,i sat there1 conscious of a palpitation1 ,i think ,i had a vision of what was to be4 ,i had also a vision of the letter ,i would presently address to ,mr4 ,pinhorn1 breaking as it were with ,mr4 ,pinhorn4 ,of course1 however1 the next minute the voice of ,the ,empire was in my ears4 ,the article was not1 ,i thanked ,heaven1 a review2 it was a leader1 the last of three1 presenting ,neil ,paraday to the human race4 ,his new book1 the fifth from his hand1 had been but a day or two out1 and ,the ,empire1 already aware of it1 fired1 as if on the birth of a prince1 a salute of a whole column4 ,the guns had been booming these three hours in the house without our suspecting them4 ,the big blundering newspaper had discovered him1 and now he was proclaimed and anointed and crowned4 ,his place was assigned him as publicly as if a fat usher with a wand had pointed to the topmost chair2 he was to pass up and still up1 higher and higher1 between the watching faces and the envious sounds--away up to the das and the throne4 ,the article was a date2 he had taken rank at a bound--waked up a national glory4 ,a national glory was needed1 and it was an immense convenience he was there4 ,what all this meant rolled over me1 and ,i fear ,i grew a little faint--it meant so much more than ,i could say yea to on the spot4 ,in a flash1 somehow1 all was different2 the tremendous wave ,i speak of had swept something away4 ,it had knocked down1 ,i suppose1 my little customary altar1 my twinkling tapers and my flowers1 and had reared itself into the likeness of a temple vast and bare4 ,when ,neil ,paraday should come out of the house he would come out a contemporary4 ,that was what had happened--the poor man was to be squeezed into his horrible age4 ,i felt as if he had been overtaken on the crest of the hill and brought back to the city4 ,a little more and he would have dipped down to posterity and escaped4 ,,iv ,when he came out it was exactly as if he had been in custody1 for beside him walked a stout man with a big black beard1 who1 save that he wore spectacles1 might have been a policeman1 and in whom at a second glance ,i recognised the highest contemporary enterprise4 ,this is ,mr4 ,morrow1 said ,paraday1 looking1 ,i thought1 rather white2 he wants to publish heaven knows what about me4 ,i winced as ,i remembered that this was exactly what ,i myself had wanted4 ,already8 ,i exclaimed1 with a sort of sense that my friend had fled to me for protection4 ,mr4 ,morrow glared1 agreeably1 through his glasses3 they suggested the electric headlights of some monstrous modern ship1 and ,i felt as if ,paraday and ,i were tossing terrified under his bows4 ,i saw that his momentum was irresistible4 ,i was confident that ,i should be the first in the field1 he declared4 ,a great interest is naturally felt in ,mr4 ,paraday's surroundings4 ,i hadn't the least idea of it1 said ,paraday1 as if he had been told he had been snoring4 ,i find he has not read the article in ,the ,empire1 ,mr4 ,morrow remarked to me4 ,that's so very interesting--it's something to start with1 he smiled4 ,he had begun to pull off his gloves1 which were violently new1 and to look encouragingly round the little garden4 ,as a surrounding ,i felt that ,i myself had already been taken in2 ,i was a little fish in the stomach of a bigger one4 ,i represent1 our visitor continued1 a syndicate of influential journals1 no less than thirty-seven1 whose public--whose publics1 ,i may say--are in peculiar sympathy with ,mr4 ,paraday's line of thought4 ,they would greatly appreciate any expression of his views on the subject of the art he so brilliantly practises4 ,besides my connection with the syndicate just mentioned1 ,i hold a particular commission from ,the ,tatler1 whose most prominent department1 ',smatter and ,chatter'--,i daresay you've often enjoyed it--attracts such attention4 ,i was honoured only last week1 as a representative of ,the ,tatler1 with the confidence of ,guy ,walsingham1 the author of ',obsessions4' ,she expressed herself thoroughly pleased with my sketch of her method2 she went so far as to say that ,i had made her genius more comprehensible even to herself4 ,neil ,paraday had dropped upon the garden-bench and sat there1 at once detached and confused2 he looked hard at a bare spot in the lawn1 as if with an anxiety that had suddenly made him grave4 ,his movement had been interpreted by his visitor as an invitation to sink sympathetically into a wicker chair that stood hard by1 and as ,mr4 ,morrow so settled himself ,i felt that he had taken official possession and that there was no undoing it4 ,one had heard of unfortunate people's having a man in the house1 and this was just what we had4 ,there was a silence of a moment1 during which we seemed to acknowledge in the only way that was possible the presence of universal fate2 the sunny stillness took no pity1 and my thought1 as ,i was sure ,paraday's was doing1 performed within the minute a great distant revolution4 ,i saw just how emphatic ,i should make my rejoinder to ,mr4 ,pinhorn1 and that having come1 like ,mr4 ,morrow1 to betray1 ,i must remain as long as possible to save4 ,not because ,i had brought my mind back1 but because our visitor's last words were in my ear1 ,i presently inquired with gloomy irrelevance if ,guy ,walsingham were a woman4 ,oh yes1 a mere pseudonym2 but convenient1 you know1 for a lady who goes in for the larger latitude4 ',obsessions1 by ,miss ,so-and-,so1' would look a little odd1 but men are more naturally indelicate4 ,have you peeped into ',obsessions'8 ,mr4 ,morrow continued sociably to our companion4 ,paraday1 still absent1 remote1 made no answer1 as if he had not heard the question3 a manifestation that appeared to suit the cheerful ,mr4 ,morrow as well as any other4 ,imperturbably bland1 he was a man of resources--he only needed to be on the spot4 ,he had pocketed the whole poor place while ,paraday and ,i were woolgathering1 and ,i could imagine that he had already got his heads4 ,his system1 at any rate1 was justified by the inevitability with which ,i replied1 to save my friend the trouble3 ,dear1 no2 he hasn't read it4 ,he doesn't read such things6 ,i unwarily added4 ,things that are too far over the fence1 eh8 ,i was indeed a godsend to ,mr4 ,morrow4 ,it was the psychological moment2 it determined the appearance of his notebook1 which1 however1 he at first kept slightly behind him1 as the dentist1 approaching his victim1 keeps his horrible forceps4 ,mr4 ,paraday holds with the good old proprieties--,i see6 ,and1 thinking of the thirty-seven influential journals1 ,i found myself1 as ,i found poor ,paraday1 helplessly gazing at the promulgation of this ineptitude4 ,there's no point on which distinguished views are so acceptable as on this question--raised perhaps more strikingly than ever by ,guy ,walsingham--of the permissibility of the larger latitude4 ,i have an appointment1 precisely in connection with it1 next week1 with ,dora ,forbes1 the author of ',the ,other ,way ,round1' which everybody is talking about4 ,has ,mr4 ,paraday glanced at ',the ,other ,way ,round'8 ,mr4 ,morrow now frankly appealed to me4 ,i took upon myself to repudiate the supposition1 while our companion1 still silent1 got up nervously and walked away4 ,his visitor paid no heed to his withdrawal2 he only opened out the notebook with a more motherly pat4 ,dora ,forbes1 ,i gather1 takes the ground1 the same as ,guy ,walsingham's1 that the larger latitude has simply got to come4 ,he holds that it has got to be squarely faced4 ,of course his sex makes him a less prejudiced witness4 ,but an authoritative word from ,mr4 ,paraday--from the point of view of his sex1 you know--would go right round the globe4 ,he takes the line that we haven't got to face it8 ,i was bewildered2 it sounded somehow as if there were three sexes4 ,my interlocutor's pencil was poised1 my private responsibility great4 ,i simply sat staring1 however1 and only found presence of mind to say3 ,is this ,miss ,forbes a gentleman8 ,mr4 ,morrow hesitated an instant1 smiling3 ,it wouldn't be ',miss'--there's a wife6 ,i mean is she a man8 ,the wife8--,mr4 ,morrow1 for a moment1 was as confused as myself4 ,but when ,i explained that ,i alluded to ,dora ,forbes in person he informed me1 with visible amusement at my being so out of it1 that this was the pen-name of an indubitable male--he had a big red moustache4 ,he only assumes a feminine personality because the ladies are such popular favourites4 ,a great deal of interest is felt in this assumption1 and there's every prospect of its being widely imitated4 ,our host at this moment joined us again1 and ,mr4 ,morrow remarked invitingly that he should be happy to make a note of any observation the movement in question1 the bid for success under a lady's name1 might suggest to ,mr4 ,paraday4 ,but the poor man1 without catching the allusion1 excused himself1 pleading that1 though he was greatly honoured by his visitor's interest1 he suddenly felt unwell and should have to take leave of him--have to go and lie down and keep quiet4 ,his young friend might be trusted to answer for him1 but he hoped ,mr4 ,morrow didn't expect great things even of his young friend4 ,his young friend1 at this moment1 looked at ,neil ,paraday with an anxious eye1 greatly wondering if he were doomed to be ill again2 but ,paraday's own kind face met his question reassuringly1 seemed to say in a glance intelligible enough3 ,oh1 ,i'm not ill1 but ,i'm scared3 get him out of the house as quietly as possible4 ,getting newspaper-men out of the house was odd business for an emissary of ,mr4 ,pinhorn1 and ,i was so exhilarated by the idea of it that ,i called after him as he left us3 ,read the article in ,the ,empire1 and you'll soon be all right6 ,v ,delicious my having come down to tell him of it6 ,mr4 ,morrow ejaculated4 ,my cab was at the door twenty minutes after ,the ,empire had been laid upon my breakfast-table4 ,now what have you got for me8 he continued1 dropping again into his chair1 from which1 however1 the next moment he quickly rose4 ,i was shown into the drawing-room1 but there must be more to see--his study1 his literary sanctum1 the little things he has about1 or other domestic objects or features4 ,he wouldn't be lying down on his study-table8 ,there's a great interest always felt in the scene of an author's labours4 ,sometimes we're favoured with very delightful peeps4 ,dora ,forbes showed me all his table-drawers1 and almost jammed my hand into one into which ,i made a dash6 ,i don't ask that of you1 but if we could talk things over right there where he sits ,i feel as if ,i should get the keynote4 ,i had no wish whatever to be rude to ,mr4 ,morrow1 ,i was much too initiated not to prefer the safety of other ways2 but ,i had a quick inspiration and ,i entertained an insurmountable1 an almost superstitious objection to his crossing the threshold of my friend's little lonely1 shabby1 consecrated workshop4 ,no1 no--we sha'n't get at his life that way1 ,i said4 ,the way to get at his life is to--,but wait a moment6 ,i broke off and went quickly into the house2 then1 in three minutes1 ,i reappeared before ,mr4 ,morrow with the two volumes of ,paraday's new book4 ,his life's here1 ,i went on1 and ,i'm so full of this admirable thing that ,i can't talk of anything else4 ,the artist's life's his work1 and this is the place to observe him4 ,what he has to tell us he tells us with this perfection4 ,my dear sir1 the best interviewer's the best reader4 ,mr4 ,morrow good-humouredly protested4 ,do you mean to say that no other source of information should be opened to us8 ,none other till this particular one--by far the most copious--has been quite exhausted4 ,have you exhausted it1 my dear sir8 ,had you exhausted it when you came down here8 ,it seems to me in our time almost wholly neglected1 and something should surely be done to restore its ruined credit4 ,it's the course to which the artist himself at every step1 and with such pathetic confidence1 refers us4 ,this last book of ,mr4 ,paraday's is full of revelations4 ,revelations8 panted ,mr4 ,morrow1 whom ,i had forced again into his chair4 ,the only kind that count4 ,it tells you with a perfection that seems to me quite final all the author thinks1 for instance1 about the advent of the 'larger latitude4' ,where does it do that8 asked ,mr4 ,morrow1 who had picked up the second volume and was insincerely thumbing it4 ,everywhere--in the whole treatment of his case4 ,extract the opinion1 disengage the answer--those are the real acts of homage4 ,mr4 ,morrow1 after a minute1 tossed the book away4 ,ah1 but you mustn't take me for a reviewer4 ,heaven forbid ,i should take you for anything so dreadful6 ,you came down to perform a little act of sympathy1 and so1 ,i may confide to you1 did ,i4 ,let us perform our little act together4 ,these pages overflow with the testimony we want3 let us read them and taste them and interpret them4 ,you will of course have perceived for yourself that one scarcely does read ,neil ,paraday till one reads him aloud2 he gives out to the ear an extraordinary quality1 and it's only when you expose it confidently to that test that you really get near his style4 ,take up your book again and let me listen1 while you pay it out1 to that wonderful fifteenth chapter4 ,if you feel that you can't do it justice1 compose yourself to attention while ,i produce for you--,i think ,i can6--this scarcely less admirable ninth4 ,mr4 ,morrow gave me a straight glance which was as hard as a blow between the eyes2 he had turned rather red and a question had formed itself in his mind which reached my sense as distinctly as if he had uttered it3 ,what sort of a damned fool are you8 ,then he got up1 gathering together his hat and gloves1 buttoning his coat1 projecting hungrily all over the place the big transparency of his mask4 ,it seemed to flare over ,fleet ,street and somehow made the actual spot distressingly humble3 there was so little for it to feed on unless he counted the blisters of our stucco or saw his way to do something with the roses4 ,even the poor roses were common kinds4 ,presently his eyes fell upon the manuscript from which ,paraday had been reading to me and which still lay on the bench4 ,as my own followed them ,i saw that it looked promising1 looked pregnant1 as if it gently throbbed with the life the reader had given it4 ,mr4 ,morrow indulged in a nod toward it and a vague thrust of his umbrella4 ,what's that8 ,oh1 it's a plan--a secret4 ,a secret6 ,there was an instant's silence1 and then ,mr4 ,morrow made another movement4 ,i may have been mistaken1 but it affected me as the translated impulse of the desire to lay hands on the manuscript1 and this led me to indulge in a quick anticipatory grab which may very well have seemed ungraceful1 or even impertinent1 and which at any rate left ,mr4 ,paraday's two admirers very erect1 glaring at each other while one of them held a bundle of papers well behind him4 ,an instant later ,mr4 ,morrow quitted me abruptly1 as if he had really carried something away4 ,to reassure myself1 watching his broad back recede1 ,i only grasped my manuscript the tighter4 ,he went to the back-door of the house1 the one he had come out from1 but on trying the handle he appeared to find it fastened4 ,so he passed round into the front garden1 and1 by listening intently enough1 ,i could presently hear the outer gate close behind him with a bang4 ,i thought again of the thirty-seven influential journals and wondered what would be his revenge4 ,i hasten to add that he was magnanimous3 which was just the most dreadful thing he could have been4 ,the ,tatler published a charming1 chatty1 familiar account of ,mr4 ,paraday's ,home-life1 and on the wings of the thirty-seven influential journals it went1 to use ,mr4 ,morrow's own expression1 right round the globe4 ,,vi ,a week later1 early in ,may1 my glorified friend came up to town1 where1 it may be veraciously recorded1 he was the king of the beasts of the year4 ,no advancement was ever more rapid1 no exaltation more complete1 no bewilderment more teachable4 ,his book sold but moderately1 though the article in ,the ,empire had done unwonted wonders for it2 but he circulated in person in a manner that the libraries might well have envied4 ,his formula had been found--he was a revelation4 ,his momentary terror had been real1 just as mine had been--the overclouding of his passionate desire to be left to finish his work4 ,he was far from unsociable1 but he had the finest conception of being let alone that ,i have ever met4 ,for the time1 however1 he took his profit where it seemed most to crowd upon him1 having in his pocket the portable sophistries about the nature of the artist's task4 ,observation too was a kind of work and experience a kind of success2 ,london dinners were all material and ,london ladies were fruitful toil4 ,no one has the faintest conception of what ,i'm trying for1 he said to me1 and not many have read three pages that ,i've written2 but they're all enthusiastic1 enchanted1 devoted4 ,he found himself in truth equally amused and fatigued2 but the fatigue had the merit of being a new sort1 and the phantasmagoric town was perhaps after all less of a battlefield than the haunted study4 ,he once told me that he had had no personal life to speak of since his fortieth year1 but had had more than was good for him before4 ,london closed the parenthesis and exhibited him in relations2 one of the most inevitable of these being that in which he found himself to ,mrs4 ,weeks ,wimbush1 wife of the boundless brewer and proprietress of the universal menagerie4 ,in this establishment1 as everybody knows1 on occasions when the crush is great1 the animals rub shoulders freely with the spectators and the lions sit down for whole evenings with the lambs4 ,it had been ominously clear to me from the first that in ,neil ,paraday this lady1 who1 as all the world agreed1 was tremendous fun1 considered that she had secured a prime attraction1 a creature of almost heraldic oddity4 ,nothing could exceed her enthusiasm over her capture1 and nothing could exceed the confused apprehensions it excited in me4 ,i had an instinctive fear of her which ,i tried without effect to conceal from her victim1 but which ,i let her perceive with perfect impunity4 ,paraday heeded it1 but she never did1 for her conscience was that of a romping child4 ,she was a blind1 violent force1 to which ,i could attach no more idea of responsibility than to the hum of a spinning-top4 ,it was difficult to say what she conduced to but to circulation4 ,she was constructed of steel and leather1 and all ,i asked of her for our tractable friend was not to do him to death4 ,he had consented for a time to be of indiarubber1 but my thoughts were fixed on the day he should resume his shape or at least get back into his box4 ,it was evidently all right1 but ,i should be glad when it was well over4 ,i was simply nervous--the impression was ineffaceable of the hour when1 after ,mr4 ,morrow's departure1 ,i had found him on the sofa in his study4 ,that pretext of indisposition had not in the least been meant as a snub to the envoy of ,the ,tatler--he had gone to lie down in very truth4 ,he had felt a pang of his old pain1 the result of the agitation wrought in him by this forcing open of a new period4 ,his old programme1 his old ideal even had to be changed4 ,say what one would1 success was a complication and recognition had to be reciprocal4 ,the monastic life1 the pious illumination of the missal in the convent cell were things of the gathered past4 ,it didn't engender despair1 but it at least required adjustment4 ,before ,i left him on that occasion we had passed a bargain1 my part of which was that ,i should make it my business to take care of him4 ,let whoever would represent the interest in his presence 7,i had a mystical prevision of ,mrs4 ,weeks ,wimbush71 ,i should represent the interest in his work--in other words1 in his absence4 ,these two interests were in their essence opposed2 and ,i doubt1 as youth is fleeting1 if ,i shall ever again know the intensity of joy with which ,i felt that in so good a cause ,i was willing to make myself odious4 ,one day1 in ,sloane ,street1 ,i found myself questioning ,paraday's landlord1 who had come to the door in answer to my knock4 ,two vehicles1 a barouche and a smart hansom1 were drawn up before the house4 ,in the drawing-room1 sir8 ,mrs4 ,weeks ,wimbush4 ,and in the dining-room8 ,a young lady1 sir--waiting3 ,i think a foreigner4 ,it was three o'clock1 and on days when ,paraday didn't lunch out he attached a value to these subjugated hours4 ,on which days1 however1 didn't the dear man lunch out8 ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 at such a crisis1 would have rushed round immediately after her own repast4 ,i went into the dining-room first1 postponing the pleasure of seeing how1 upstairs1 the lady of the barouche would1 on my arrival1 point the moral of my sweet solicitude4 ,no one took such an interest as herself in his doing only what was good for him1 and she was always on the spot to see that he did it4 ,she made appointments with him to discuss the best means of economising his time and protecting his privacy4 ,she further made his health her special business1 and had so much sympathy with my own zeal for it that she was the author of pleasing fictions on the subject of what my devotion had led me to give up4 ,i gave up nothing 7,i don't count ,mr4 ,pinhorn7 because ,i had nothing1 and all ,i had as yet achieved was to find myself also in the menagerie4 ,i had dashed in to save my friend1 but ,i had only got domesticated and wedged2 so that ,i could do nothing for him but exchange with him over people's heads looks of intense but futile intelligence4 ,,vii ,the young lady in the dining-room had a brave face1 black hair1 blue eyes1 and in her lap a big volume4 ,i've come for his autograph1 she said1 when ,i had explained to her that ,i was under bonds to see people for him when he was occupied4 ,i've been waiting half an hour1 but ,i'm prepared to wait all day4 ,i don't know whether it was this that told me she was ,american1 for the propensity to wait all day is not in general characteristic of her race4 ,i was enlightened probably not so much by the spirit of the utterance as by some quality of its sound4 ,at any rate ,i saw she had an individual patience and a lovely frock1 together with an expression that played among her pretty features as a breeze among flowers4 ,putting her book upon the table1 she showed me a massive album1 showily bound and full of autographs of price4 ,the collection of faded notes1 of still more faded thoughts1 of quotations1 platitudes1 signatures1 represented a formidable purpose4 ,most people apply to ,mr4 ,paraday by letter1 you know1 ,i said4 ,yes1 but he doesn't answer4 ,i've written three times4 ,very true1 ,i reflected2 the sort of letter you mean goes straight into the fire4 ,how do you know the sort ,i mean8 my interlocutress asked4 ,she had blushed and smiled and in a moment she added3 ,i don't believe he gets many like them6 ,i'm sure they're beautiful1 but he burns without reading4 ,i didn't add that ,i had told him he ought to4 ,isn't he then in danger of burning things of importance8 ,he would be1 if distinguished men hadn't an infallible nose for a petition4 ,she looked at me a moment--her face was sweet and gay4 ,do you burn without reading1 too8 she asked2 in answer to which ,i assured her that if she would trust me with her repository ,i would see that ,mr4 ,paraday should write his name in it4 ,she considered a little4 ,that's very well1 but it wouldn't make me see him4 ,do you want very much to see him8 ,it seemed ungracious to catechise so charming a creature1 but somehow ,i had never yet taken my duty to the great author so seriously4 ,enough to have come from ,america for the purpose4 ,i stared4 ,all alone8 ,i don't see that that's exactly your business2 but if it will make me more appealing ,i will confess that ,i am quite by myself4 ,i had to come alone or not at all4 ,she was interesting2 ,i could imagine that she had lost parents1 natural protectors--could conceive even that she had inherited money4 ,i was in a phase of my own fortunes when keeping hansoms at doors seemed to me pure swagger4 ,as a trick of this frank and delicate girl1 however1 it became romantic--a part of the general romance of her freedom1 her errand1 her innocence4 ,the confidence of young ,americans was notorious1 and ,i speedily arrived at a conviction that no impulse could have been more generous than the impulse that had operated here4 ,i foresaw at that moment that it would make her my peculiar charge1 just as circumstances had made ,neil ,paraday4 ,she would be another person to look after1 and one's honour would be concerned in guiding her straight4 ,these things became clearer to me later2 at the instant ,i had scepticism enough to observe to her1 as ,i turned the pages of her volume1 that her net had1 all the same1 caught many a big fish4 ,she appeared to have had fruitful access to the great ones of the earth2 there were people moreover whose signatures she had presumably secured without a personal interview4 ,she couldn't have waylaid ,george ,washington and ,friedrich ,schiller and ,hannah ,more4 ,she met this argument1 to my surprise1 by throwing up the album without a pang4 ,it wasn't even her own2 she was responsible for none of its treasures4 ,it belonged to a girl-friend in ,america1 a young lady in a western city4 ,this young lady had insisted on her bringing it1 to pick up more autographs3 she thought they might like to see1 in ,europe1 in what company they would be4 ,the girl-friend1 the western city1 the immortal names1 the curious errand1 the idyllic faith1 all made a story as strange to me1 and as beguiling1 as some tale in the ,arabian ,nights4 ,thus it was that my informant had encumbered herself with the ponderous tome2 but she hastened to assure me that this was the first time she had brought it out4 ,for her visit to ,mr4 ,paraday it had simply been a pretext4 ,she didn't really care a straw that he should write his name2 what she did want was to look straight into his face4 ,i demurred a little4 ,and why do you require to do that8 ,because ,i just love him6 ,before ,i could recover from the agitating effect of this crystal ring my companion had continued3 ,hasn't there ever been any face that you've wanted to look into8 ,how could ,i tell her so soon how much ,i appreciated the opportunity of looking into hers8 ,i could only assent in general to the proposition that there were certainly for everyone such faces2 and ,i felt that the crisis demanded all my lucidity1 all my wisdom4 ,oh1 yes1 ,i'm a student of physiognomy4 ,do you mean1 ,i pursued1 that you've a passion for ,mr4 ,paraday's books8 ,they've been everything to me--,i know them by heart4 ,they've completely taken hold of me4 ,there's no author about whom ,i feel as ,i do about ,neil ,paraday4 ,permit me to remark then1 ,i presently rejoined1 that you're one of the right sort4 ,one of the enthusiasts8 ,of course ,i am6 ,oh1 there are enthusiasts who are quite of the wrong4 ,i mean you're one of those to whom an appeal can be made4 ,an appeal8 ,her face lighted as if with the chance of some great sacrifice4 ,if she was ready for one it was only waiting for her1 and in a moment ,i mentioned it4 ,give up this rigid purpose of seeing him4 ,go away without it4 ,that will be far better4 ,she looked mystified2 then she turned visibly pale4 ,why1 hasn't he any personal charm8 ,the girl was terrible and laughable in her bright directness4 ,ah1 that dreadful word 'personal'6 ,i exclaimed2 we're dying of it1 and you women bring it out with murderous effect4 ,when you encounter a genius as fine as this idol of ours1 let him off the dreary duty of being a personality as well4 ,know him only by what's best in him1 and spare him for the same sweet sake4 ,my young lady continued to look at me in confusion and mistrust1 and the result of her reflection on what ,i had just said was to make her suddenly break out3 ,look here1 sir--what's the matter with him8 ,the matter with him is that1 if he doesn't look out1 people will eat a great hole in his life4 ,she considered a moment4 ,he hasn't any disfigurement8 ,nothing to speak of6 ,do you mean that social engagements interfere with his occupations8 ,that but feebly expresses it4 ,so that he can't give himself up to his beautiful imagination8 ,he's badgered1 bothered1 overwhelmed1 on the pretext of being applauded4 ,people expect him to give them his time1 his golden time1 who wouldn't themselves give five shillings for one of his books4 ,five8 ,i'd give five thousand6 ,give your sympathy--give your forbearance4 ,two-thirds of those who approach him only do it to advertise themselves4 ,why1 it's too bad6 the girl exclaimed1 with the face of an angel4 ,i followed up my advantage4 ,there's a lady with him now who's a terrible complication1 and who yet hasn't read1 ,i am sure1 ten pages that he ever wrote4 ,my visitor's wide eyes grew tenderer4 ,then how does she talk----8 ,without ceasing4 ,i only mention her as a single case4 ,do you want to know how to show a superlative consideration8 ,simply avoid him4 ,avoid him8 she softly wailed4 ,don't force him to have to take account of you2 admire him in silence1 cultivate him at a distance and secretly appropriate his message4 ,do you want to know1 ,i continued1 warming to my idea1 how to perform an act of homage really sublime8 ,then as she hung on my words3 ,succeed in never seeing him6 ,never8 she pathetically gasped4 ,the more you get into his writings the less you'll want to2 and you'll be immensely sustained by the thought of the good you're doing him4 ,she looked at me without resentment or spite1 and at the truth ,i had put before her with candour1 credulity and pity4 ,i was afterwards happy to remember that she must have recognised in my face the liveliness of my interest in herself4 ,i think ,i see what you mean4 ,oh1 ,i express it badly2 but ,i should be delighted if you would let me come to see you--to explain it better4 ,she made no response to this1 and her thoughtful eyes fell on the big album1 on which she presently laid her hands as if to take it away4 ,i did use to say out ,west that they might write a little less for autographs 7to all the great poets1 you know7 and study the thoughts and style a little more4 ,what do they care for the thoughts and style8 ,they didn't even understand you4 ,i'm not sure1 ,i added1 that ,i do myself1 and ,i daresay that you by no means make me out4 ,she had got up to go1 and though ,i wanted her to succeed in not seeing ,neil ,paraday ,i wanted her also1 inconsequently1 to remain in the house4 ,i was at any rate far from desiring to hustle her off4 ,as ,mrs4 ,weeks ,wimbush1 upstairs1 was still saving our friend in her own way1 ,i asked my young lady to let me briefly relate1 in illustration of my point1 the little incident of my having gone down into the country for a profane purpose and been converted on the spot to holiness4 ,sinking again into her chair to listen1 she showed a deep interest in the anecdote4 ,then1 thinking it over gravely1 she exclaimed with her odd intonation3 ,yes1 but you do see him6 ,i had to admit that this was the case2 and ,i was not so prepared with an effective attenuation as ,i could have wished4 ,she eased the situation off1 however1 by the charming quaintness with which she finally said3 ,well1 ,i wouldn't want him to be lonely6 ,this time she rose in earnest1 but ,i persuaded her to let me keep the album to show to ,mr4 ,paraday4 ,i assured her ,i would bring it back to her myself4 ,well1 you'll find my address somewhere in it1 on a paper6 she sighed resignedly1 as she took leave4 ,,viii ,i blush to confess it1 but ,i invited ,mr4 ,paraday that very day to transcribe into the album one of his most characteristic passages4 ,i told him how ,i had got rid of the strange girl who had brought it--her ominous name was ,miss ,hurter and she lived at an hotel2 quite agreeing with him moreover as to the wisdom of getting rid with equal promptitude of the book itself4 ,this was why ,i carried it to ,albemarle ,street no later than on the morrow4 ,i failed to find her at home1 but she wrote to me and ,i went again3 she wanted so much to hear more about ,neil ,paraday4 ,i returned repeatedly1 ,i may briefly declare1 to supply her with this information4 ,she had been immensely taken1 the more she thought of it1 with that idea of mine about the act of homage3 it had ended by filling her with a generous rapture4 ,she positively desired to do something sublime for him1 though indeed ,i could see that1 as this particular flight was difficult1 she appreciated the fact that my visits kept her up4 ,i had it on my conscience to keep her up2 ,i neglected nothing that would contribute to it1 and her conception of our cherished author's independence became at last as fine as his own conception4 ,read him1 read him1 ,i constantly repeated2 while1 seeking him in his works1 she represented herself as convinced that1 according to my assurance1 this was the system that had1 as she expressed it1 weaned her4 ,we read him together when ,i could find time1 and the generous creature's sacrifice was fed by our conversation4 ,there were twenty selfish women1 about whom ,i told her1 who stirred her with a beautiful rage4 ,immediately after my first visit her sister1 ,mrs4 ,milsom1 came over from ,paris1 and the two ladies began to present1 as they called it1 their letters4 ,i thanked our stars that none had been presented to ,mr4 ,paraday4 ,they received invitations and dined out1 and some of these occasions enabled ,fanny ,hurter to perform1 for consistency's sake1 touching feats of submission4 ,nothing indeed would now have induced her even to look at the object of her admiration4 ,once1 hearing his name announced at a party1 she instantly left the room by another door and then straightway quitted the house4 ,at another time1 when ,i was at the opera with them 7,mrs4 ,milsom had invited me to their box7 ,i attempted to point ,mr4 ,paraday out to her in the stalls4 ,on this she asked her sister to change places with her1 and1 while that lady devoured the great man through a powerful glass1 presented1 all the rest of the evening1 her inspired back to the house4 ,to torment her tenderly ,i pressed the glass upon her1 telling her how wonderfully near it brought our friend's handsome head4 ,by way of answer she simply looked at me in grave silence2 on which ,i saw that tears had gathered in her eyes4 ,these tears1 ,i may remark1 produced an effect on me of which the end is not yet4 ,there was a moment when ,i felt it my duty to mention them to ,neil ,paraday2 but ,i was deterred by the reflection that there were questions more relevant to his happiness4 ,these questions indeed1 by the end of the season1 were reduced to a single one--the question of reconstituting1 so far as might be possible1 the conditions under which he had produced his best work4 ,such conditions could never all come back1 for there was a new one that took up too much place2 but some perhaps were not beyond recall4 ,i wanted above all things to see him sit down to the subject of which1 on my making his acquaintance1 he had read me that admirable sketch4 ,something told me there was no security but in his doing so before the new factor1 as we used to say at ,mr4 ,pinhorn's1 should render the problem incalculable4 ,it only half reassured me that the sketch itself was so copious and so eloquent that even at the worst there would be the making of a small but complete book1 a tiny volume which1 for the faithful1 might well become an object of adoration4 ,there would even not be wanting critics to declare1 ,i foresaw1 that the plan was a thing to be more thankful for than the structure to have been reared on it4 ,my impatience for the structure1 none the less1 grew and grew with the interruptions4 ,he had1 on coming up to town1 begun to sit for his portrait to a young painter1 ,mr4 ,rumble1 whose little game1 as we used to say at ,mr4 ,pinhorn's1 was to be the first to perch on the shoulders of renown4 ,mr4 ,rumble's studio was a circus in which the man of the hour1 and still more the woman1 leaped through the hoops of his showy frames almost as electrically as they burst into telegrams and specials4 ,he pranced into the exhibitions on their back2 he was the reporter on canvas1 the ,vandyke up to date1 and there was one roaring year in which ,mrs4 ,bounder and ,miss ,braby1 ,guy ,walsingham and ,dora ,forbes proclaimed in chorus from the same pictured walls that no one had yet got ahead of him4 ,paraday had been promptly caught and saddled1 accepting with characteristic good-humour his confidential hint that to figure in his show was not so much a consequence as a cause of immortality4 ,from ,mrs4 ,wimbush to the last representative who called to ascertain his twelve favourite dishes1 it was the same ingenuous assumption that he would rejoice in the repercussion4 ,there were moments when ,i fancied ,i might have had more patience with them if they had not been so fatally benevolent4 ,i hated1 at all events1 ,mr4 ,rumble's picture1 and had my bottled resentment ready when1 later on1 ,i found my distracted friend had been stuffed by ,mrs4 ,wimbush into the mouth of another cannon4 ,a young artist in whom she was intensely interested1 and who had no connection with ,mr4 ,rumble1 was to show how far he could shoot him4 ,poor ,paraday1 in return1 was naturally to write something somewhere about the young artist4 ,she played her victims against each other with admirable ingenuity1 and her establishment was a huge machine in which the tiniest and the biggest wheels went round to the same treadle4 ,i had a scene with her in which ,i tried to express that the function of such a man was to exercise his genius--not to serve as a hoarding for pictorial posters4 ,the people ,i was perhaps angriest with were the editors of magazines who had introduced what they called new features1 so aware were they that the newest feature of all would be to make him grind their axes by contributing his views on vital topics and taking part in the periodical prattle about the future of fiction4 ,i made sure that before ,i should have done with him there would scarcely be a current form of words left me to be sick of2 but meanwhile ,i could make surer still of my animosity to bustling ladies for whom he drew the water that irrigated their social flower-beds4 ,i had a battle with ,mrs4 ,wimbush over the artist she protected1 and another over the question of a certain week1 at the end of ,july1 that ,mr4 ,paraday appeared to have contracted to spend with her in the country4 ,i protested against this visit2 ,i intimated that he was too unwell for hospitality without a nuance1 for caresses without imagination2 ,i begged he might rather take the time in some restorative way4 ,a sultry air of promises1 of reminders hung over his ,august1 and he would greatly profit by the interval of rest4 ,he had not told me he was ill again--that he had had a warning2 but ,i had not heeded this1 and ,i found his reticence his worst symptom4 ,the only thing he said to me was that he believed a comfortable attack of something or other would set him up3 it would put out of the question everything but the exemptions he prized4 ,i am afraid ,i shall have presented him as a martyr in a very small cause if ,i fail to explain that he surrendered himself much more liberally than ,i surrendered him4 ,he filled his lungs1 for the most part1 with the comedy of his queer fate3 the tragedy was in the spectacles through which ,i chose to look4 ,he was conscious of inconvenience1 and above all of a great renouncement2 but how could he have heard a mere dirge in the bells of his accession8 ,the sagacity and the jealousy were mine1 and his the impressions and the anecdotes4 ,of course1 as regards ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 ,i was worsted in my encounters1 for was not the state of his health the very reason for his coming to her at ,prestidge8 ,wasn't it precisely at ,prestidge that he was to be coddled1 and wasn't the dear ,princess coming to help her to coddle him8 ,the dear ,princess1 now on a visit to ,england1 was of a famous foreign house1 and1 in her gilded cage1 with her retinue of keepers and feeders1 was the most expensive specimen in the good lady's collection4 ,i don't think her august presence had had to do with ,paraday's consenting to go1 but it is not impossible that he had operated as a bait to the illustrious stranger4 ,the party had been made up for him1 ,mrs4 ,wimbush averred1 and everyone was counting on it1 the dear ,princess most of all4 ,if he was well enough he was to read them something absolutely fresh1 and it was on that particular prospect the ,princess had set her heart4 ,she was so fond of genius1 in any walk of life1 and she was so used to it1 and understood it so well2 she was the greatest of ,mr4 ,paraday's admirers1 she devoured everything he wrote4 ,and then he read like an angel4 ,mrs4 ,wimbush reminded me that he had again and again given her1 ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 the privilege of listening to him4 ,i looked at her a moment4 ,what has he read to you8 ,i crudely inquired4 ,for a moment too she met my eyes1 and for the fraction of a moment she hesitated and coloured4 ,oh1 all sorts of things6 ,i wondered whether this were a perfect fib or only an imperfect recollection1 and she quite understood my unuttered comment on her perception of such things4 ,but if she could forget ,neil ,paraday's beauties she could of course forget my rudeness1 and three days later she invited me1 by telegraph1 to join the party at ,prestidge4 ,this time she might indeed have had a story about what ,i had given up to be near the master4 ,i addressed from that fine residence several communications to a young lady in ,london1 a young lady whom1 ,i confess1 ,i quitted with reluctance and whom the reminder of what she herself could give up was required to make me quit at all4 ,it adds to the gratitude ,i owe her on other grounds that she kindly allows me to transcribe from my letters a few of the passages in which that hateful sojourn is candidly commemorated4 ,,ix ,i suppose ,i ought to enjoy the joke1 ,i wrote1 of what's going on here1 but somehow it doesn't amuse me4 ,pessimism on the contrary possesses me and cynicism solicits4 ,i positively feel my own flesh sore from the brass nails in ,neil ,paraday's social harness4 ,the house is full of people who like him1 as they mention1 awfully1 and with whom his talent for talking nonsense has prodigious success4 ,i delight in his nonsense myself2 why is it therefore that ,i grudge these happy folk their artless satisfaction8 ,mystery of the human heart--abyss of the critical spirit6 ,mrs4 ,wimbush thinks she can answer that question1 and as my want of gaiety has at last worn out her patience she has given me a glimpse of her shrewd guess4 ,i am made restless by the selfishness of the insincere friend--,i want to monopolise ,paraday in order that he may push me on4 ,to be intimate with him is a feather in my cap2 it gives me an importance that ,i couldn't naturally pretend to1 and ,i seek to deprive him of social refreshment because ,i fear that meeting more disinterested people may enlighten him as to my real spirit4 ,all the disinterested people here are his particular admirers and have been carefully selected as such4 ,there is supposed to be a copy of his last book in the house1 and in the hall ,i come upon ladies1 in attitudes1 bending gracefully over the first volume4 ,i discreetly avert my eyes1 and when ,i next look round the precarious joy has been superseded by the book of life4 ,there is a sociable circle or a confidential couple1 and the relinquished volume lies open on its face1 as if it had been dropped under extreme coercion4 ,somebody else presently finds it and transfers it1 with its air of momentary desolation1 to another piece of furniture4 ,every one is asking every one about it all day1 and everyone is telling everyone where they put it last4 ,i'm sure it's rather smudgy about the twentieth page4 ,i have a strong impression too that the second volume is lost--has been packed in the bag of some departing guest2 and yet everybody has the impression that somebody else has read to the end4 ,you see therefore that the beautiful book plays a great part in our conversation4 ,why should ,i take the occasion of such distinguished honours to say that ,i begin to see deeper into ,gustave ,flaubert's doleful refrain about the hatred of literature8 ,i refer you again to the perverse constitution of man4 ,the ,princess is a massive lady with the organisation of an athlete and the confusion of tongues of a valet de place4 ,she contrives to commit herself extraordinarily little in a great many languages1 and is entertained and conversed with in detachments and relays1 like an institution which goes on from generation to generation or a big building contracted for under a forfeit4 ,she can't have a personal taste1 any more than1 when her husband succeeds1 she can have a personal crown1 and her opinion on any matter is rusty and heavy and plain--made1 in the night of ages1 to last and be transmitted4 ,i feel as if ,i ought to pay some one a fee for my glimpse of it4 ,she has been told everything in the world and has never perceived anything1 and the echoes of her education respond awfully to the rash footfall--,i mean the casual remark--in the cold ,valhalla of her memory4 ,mrs4 ,wimbush delights in her wit and says there is nothing so charming as to hear ,mr4 ,paraday draw it out4 ,he is perpetually detailed for this job1 and he tells me it has a peculiarly exhausting effect4 ,every one is beginning--at the end of two days--to sidle obsequiously away from her1 and ,mrs4 ,wimbush pushes him again and again into the breach4 ,none of the uses ,i have yet seen him put to irritate me quite so much4 ,he looks very fagged1 and has at last confessed to me that his condition makes him uneasy--has even promised me that he will go straight home instead of returning to his final engagements in town4 ,last night ,i had some talk with him about going to-day1 cutting his visit short2 so sure am ,i that he will be better as soon as he is shut up in his lighthouse4 ,he told me that this is what he would like to do2 reminding me1 however1 that the first lesson of his greatness has been precisely that he can't do what he likes4 ,mrs4 ,wimbush would never forgive him if he should leave her before the ,princess has received the last hand4 ,when ,i say that a violent rupture with our hostess would be the best thing in the world for him he gives me to understand that if his reason assents to the proposition his courage hangs wofully back4 ,he makes no secret of being mortally afraid of her1 and when ,i ask what harm she can do him that she hasn't already done he simply repeats3 ',i'm afraid1 ,i'm afraid6 ,don't inquire too closely1' he said last night2 'only believe that ,i feel a sort of terror4 ,it's strange1 when she's so kind6 ,at any rate1 ,i would as soon overturn that piece of priceless ,svres as tell her that ,i must go before my date4' ,it sounds dreadfully weak1 but he has some reason1 and he pays for his imagination1 which puts him 7,i should hate it7 in the place of others and makes him feel1 even against himself1 their feelings1 their appetites1 their motives4 ,he's so beastly intelligent4 ,besides1 the famous reading is still to come off1 and it has been postponed a day1 to allow ,guy ,walsingham to arrive4 ,it appears that this eminent lady is staying at a house a few miles off1 which means of course that ,mrs4 ,wimbush has forcibly annexed her4 ,she's to come over in a day or two--,mrs4 ,wimbush wants her to hear ,mr4 ,paraday4 ,to-day's wet and cold1 and several of the company1 at the invitation of the ,duke1 have driven over to luncheon at ,bigwood4 ,i saw poor ,paraday wedge himself1 by command1 into the little supplementary seat of a brougham in which the ,princess and our hostess were already ensconced4 ,if the front glass isn't open on his dear old back perhaps he'll survive4 ,bigwood1 ,i believe1 is very grand and frigid1 all marble and precedence1 and ,i wish him well out of the adventure4 ,i can't tell you how much more and more your attitude to him1 in the midst of all this1 shines out by contrast4 ,i never willingly talk to these people about him1 but see what a comfort ,i find it to scribble to you6 ,i appreciate it2 it keeps me warm2 there are no fires in the house4 ,mrs4 ,wimbush goes by the calendar1 the temperature goes by the weather1 the weather goes by ,god knows what1 and the ,princess is easily heated4 ,i have nothing but my acrimony to warm me1 and have been out under an umbrella to restore my circulation4 ,coming in an hour ago1 ,i found ,lady ,augusta ,minch rummaging about the hall4 ,when ,i asked her what she was looking for she said she had mislaid something that ,mr4 ,paraday had lent her4 ,i ascertained in a moment that the article in question is a manuscript1 and ,i have a foreboding that it's the noble morsel he read me six weeks ago4 ,when ,i expressed my surprise that he should have passed about anything so precious 7,i happen to know it's his only copy--in the most beautiful hand in all the world7 ,lady ,augusta confessed to me that she had not had it from himself1 but from ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 who had wished to give her a glimpse of it as a salve for her not being able to stay and hear it read4 ',is that the piece he's to read1' ,i asked1 'when ,guy ,walsingham arrives8' ',it's not for ,guy ,walsingham they're waiting now1 it's for ,dora ,forbes1' ,lady ,augusta said4 ',she's coming1 ,i believe1 early to-morrow4 ,meanwhile ,mrs4 ,wimbush has found out about him and is actively wiring to him4 ,she says he also must hear him4' ',you bewilder me a little1' ,i replied2 'in the age we live in one gets lost among the genders and the pronouns4 ,the clear thing is that ,mrs4 ,wimbush doesn't guard such a treasure as jealously as she might4' ',poor dear1 she has the ,princess to guard6 ,mr4 ,paraday lent her the manuscript to look over4' ',did she speak as if it were the morning paper8' ,lady ,augusta stared--my irony was lost upon her4 ',she didn't have time1 so she gave me a chance first2 because unfortunately ,i go to-morrow to ,bigwood4' ',and your chance has only proved a chance to lose it8' ',i haven't lost it4 ,i remember now--it was very stupid of me to have forgotten4 ,i told my maid to give it to ,lord ,dorimont--or at least to his man4' ',and ,lord ,dorimont went away directly after luncheon4' ',of course he gave it back to my maid--or else his man did1' said ,lady ,augusta4 ',i daresay it's all right4' ,the conscience of these people is like a summer sea4 ,they haven't time to 'look over' a priceless composition2 they've only time to kick it about the house4 ,i suggested that the 'man1' fired with a noble emulation1 had perhaps kept the work for his own perusal2 and her ladyship wanted to know whether1 if the thing didn't turn up again in time for the session appointed by our hostess1 the author wouldn't have something else to read that would do just as well4 ,their questions are too delightful6 ,i declared to ,lady ,augusta briefly that nothing in the world can ever do as well as the thing that does best2 and at this she looked a little confused and scared4 ,but ,i added that if the manuscript had gone astray our little circle would have the less of an effort of attention to make4 ,the piece in question was very long--it would keep them three hours4 ',three hours6 ,oh1 the ,princess will get up6' said ,lady ,augusta4 ',i thought she was ,mr4 ,paraday's greatest admirer4' ',i daresay she is--she's so awfully clever4 ,but what's the use of being a ,princess----' ',if you can't dissemble your love8' ,i asked1 as ,lady ,augusta was vague4 ,she said1 at any rate1 that she would question her maid2 and ,i am hoping that when ,i go down to dinner ,i shall find the manuscript has been recovered4 ,x ,it has not been recovered1 ,i wrote early the next day1 and ,i am moreover much troubled about our friend4 ,he came back from ,bigwood with a chill and1 being allowed to have a fire in his room1 lay down a while before dinner4 ,i tried to send him to bed and indeed thought ,i had put him in the way of it2 but after ,i had gone to dress ,mrs4 ,wimbush came up to see him1 with the inevitable result that when ,i returned ,i found him under arms and flushed and feverish1 though decorated with the rare flower she had brought him for his button-hole4 ,he came down to dinner1 but ,lady ,augusta ,minch was very shy of him4 ,to-day he's in great pain1 and the advent of those ladies--,i mean of ,guy ,walsingham and ,dora ,forbes--doesn't at all console me4 ,it does ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 however1 for she has consented to his remaining in bed1 so that he may be all right to-morrow for the sance4 ,guy ,walsingham is already on the scene1 and the doctor1 for ,paraday1 also arrived early4 ,i haven't yet seen the author of ',obsessions1' but of course ,i've had a moment by myself with the doctor4 ,i tried to get him to say that our invalid must go straight home--,i mean to-morrow or next day2 but he quite refuses to talk about the future4 ,absolute quiet and warmth and the regular administration of an important remedy are the points he mainly insists on4 ,he returns this afternoon1 and ,i'm to go back to see the patient at one o'clock1 when he next takes his medicine4 ,it consoles me a little that he certainly won't be able to read--an exertion he was already more than unfit for4 ,lady ,augusta went off after breakfast1 assuring me that her first care would be to follow up the lost manuscript4 ,i can see she thinks me a shocking busybody and doesn't understand my alarm1 but she will do what she can1 for she's a good-natured woman4 ',so are they all honourable men4' ,that was precisely what made her give the thing to ,lord ,dorimont and made ,lord ,dorimont bag it4 ,what use he has for it ,god only knows4 ,i have the worst forebodings1 but somehow ,i'm strangely without passion--desperately calm4 ,as ,i consider the unconscious1 the well-meaning ravages of our appreciative circle ,i bow my head in submission to some great natural1 some universal accident2 ,i'm rendered almost indifferent1 in fact quite gay 7ha-ha67 by the sense of immitigable fate4 ,lady ,augusta promises me to trace the precious object and let me have it1 through the post1 by the time ,paraday is well enough to play his part with it4 ,the last evidence is that her maid did give it to his lordship's valet4 ,one would think it was some thrilling number of ,the ,family ,budget4 ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 who is aware of the accident1 is much less agitated by it than she would doubtless be were she not for the hour inevitably engrossed with ,guy ,walsingham4 ,later in the day ,i informed my correspondent1 for whom indeed ,i kept a sort of diary of the situation1 that ,i had made the acquaintance of this celebrity and that she was a pretty little girl who wore her hair in what used to be called a crop4 ,she looked so juvenile and so innocent that if1 as ,mr4 ,morrow had announced1 she was resigned to the larger latitude1 her fortitude must have come to her early4 ,i spent most of the day hovering about ,neil ,paraday's room1 but it was communicated to me from below that ,guy ,walsingham1 at ,prestidge1 was a success4 ,towards evening ,i became conscious somehow that her resignation was contagious and by the time the company separated for the night ,i was sure that the larger latitude had been generally accepted4 ,i thought of ,dora ,forbes and felt that he had no time to lose4 ,before dinner ,i received a telegram from ,lady ,augusta ,minch4 ,lord ,dorimont thinks he must have left bundle in train--inquire4 ,how could ,i inquire--if ,i was to take the word as a command8 ,i was too worried and now too alarmed about ,neil ,paraday4 ,the doctor came back1 and it was an immense satisfaction to me to feel that he was wise and interested4 ,he was proud of being called to so distinguished a patient1 but he admitted to me that night that my friend was gravely ill4 ,it was really a relapse1 a recrudescence of his old malady4 ,there could be no question of moving him3 we must at any rate see first1 on the spot1 what turn his condition would take4 ,meanwhile1 on the morrow1 he was to have a nurse4 ,on the morrow the dear man was easier and my spirits rose to such cheerfulness that ,i could almost laugh over ,lady ,augusta's second telegram3 ,lord ,dorimont's servant been to station--nothing found4 ,push inquiries4 ,i did laugh1 ,i am sure1 as ,i remembered this was the mystic scroll ,i had scarcely allowed poor ,mr4 ,morrow to point his umbrella at4 ,fool that ,i had been3 the thirty-seven influential journals wouldn't have destroyed it1 they would only have printed it4 ,of course ,i said nothing to ,paraday4 ,when the nurse arrived she turned me out of the room1 on which ,i went downstairs4 ,i should premise that at breakfast the news that our brilliant friend was doing well excited universal complacency1 and the ,princess graciously remarked that he was only to be commiserated for missing the society of ,miss ,collop4 ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 whose social gift never shone brighter than in the dry decorum with which she accepted this blemish on her perfection1 mentioned to me that ,guy ,walsingham had made a very favourable impression on her ,imperial ,highness4 ,indeed ,i think everyone did so and that1 like the money-market or the national honour1 her ,imperial ,highness was constitutionally sensitive4 ,there was a certain gladness1 a perceptible bustle in the air1 however1 which ,i thought slightly anomalous in a house where a great author lay critically ill4 ,le roy est mort--vive le roy3 ,i was reminded that another great author had already stepped into his shoes4 ,when ,i came down again after the nurse had taken possession ,i found a strange gentleman hanging about the hall and pacing to and fro by the closed door of the drawing-room4 ,this personage was florid and bald1 he had a big red moustache and wore showy knickerbockers--characteristics all that fitted into my conception of the identity of ,dora ,forbes4 ,in a moment ,i saw what had happened3 the author of ,the ,other ,way ,round had just alighted at the portals of ,prestidge1 but had suffered a scruple to restrain him from penetrating further4 ,i recognised his scruple when1 pausing to listen at his gesture of caution1 ,i heard a shrill voice lifted in a prolonged monotonous quaver4 ,the famous reading had begun1 only it was the author of ,obsessions who now furnished the sacrifice4 ,the new visitor whispered to me that he judged something was going on that he oughtn't to interrupt4 ,miss ,collop arrived last night1 ,i smiled1 and the ,princess has a thirst for the indit4 ,dora ,forbes lifted his bushy brows4 ,miss ,collop8 ,guy ,walsingham1 your distinguished confrre--or shall ,i say your formidable rival8 ,oh6 growled ,dora ,forbes4 ,then he added3 ,shall ,i spoil it if ,i go in8 ,i should think nothing could spoil it6 ,i ambiguously laughed4 ,dora ,forbes evidently felt the dilemma2 he gave an irritated crook to his moustache4 ,shall ,i go in8 he presently asked4 ,we looked at each other hard a moment2 then ,i expressed something bitter that was in me1 expressed it in an infernal ,yes6 ,after this ,i got out into the air1 but not so quickly as not to hear1 as the door of the drawing-room opened1 the disconcerted drop of ,miss ,collop's public manner3 she must have been in the midst of the larger latitude4 ,producing with extreme rapidity1 ,guy ,walsingham has just published a work in which amiable people who are not initiated have been pained to see the genius of a sister-novelist held up to unmistakable ridicule2 so fresh an exhibition does it seem to them of the dreadful way men have always treated women4 ,dora ,forbes1 it is true1 at the present hour1 is immensely pushed by ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 and has sat for his portrait to the young artists she protects1 sat for it not only in oils but in monumental alabaster4 ,what happened at ,prestidge later in the day is of course contemporary history4 ,if the interruption ,i had whimsically sanctioned was almost a scandal1 what is to be said of that general dispersal of the company which1 under the doctor's rule1 began to take place in the evening8 ,his rule was soothing to behold1 small comfort as ,i was to have at the end4 ,he decreed in the interest of his patient an absolutely soundless house and a consequent break-up of the party4 ,little country practitioner as he was1 he literally packed off the ,princess4 ,she departed as promptly as if a revolution had broken out1 and ,guy ,walsingham emigrated with her4 ,i was kindly permitted to remain1 and this was not denied even to ,mrs4 ,wimbush4 ,the privilege was withheld indeed from ,dora ,forbes2 so ,mrs4 ,wimbush kept her latest capture temporarily concealed4 ,this was so little1 however1 her usual way of dealing with her eminent friends that a couple of days of it exhausted her patience1 and she went up to town with him in great publicity4 ,the sudden turn for the worse her afflicted guest had1 after a brief improvement1 taken on the third night raised an obstacle to her seeing him before her retreat2 a fortunate circumstance doubtless1 for she was fundamentally disappointed in him4 ,this was not the kind of performance for which she had invited him to ,prestidge1 or invited the ,princess4 ,let me hasten to add that none of the generous acts which have characterised her patronage of intellectual and other merit have done so much for her reputation as her lending ,neil ,paraday the most beautiful of her numerous homes to die in4 ,he took advantage to the utmost of the singular favour4 ,day by day ,i saw him sink1 and ,i roamed alone about the empty terraces and gardens4 ,his wife never came near him1 but ,i scarcely noticed it3 as ,i paced there with rage in my heart ,i was too full of another wrong4 ,in the event of his death it would fall to me perhaps to bring out in some charming form1 with notes1 with the tenderest editorial care1 that precious heritage of his written project4 ,but where was that precious heritage1 and were both the author and the book to have been snatched from us8 ,lady ,augusta wrote me that she had done all she could and that poor ,lord ,dorimont1 who had really been worried to death1 was extremely sorry4 ,i couldn't have the matter out with ,mrs4 ,wimbush1 for ,i didn't want to be taunted by her with desiring to aggrandise myself by a public connection with ,mr4 ,paraday's sweepings4 ,she had signified her willingness to meet the expense of all advertising1 as indeed she was always ready to do4 ,the last night of the horrible series1 the night before he died1 ,i put my ear closer to his pillow4 ,that thing ,i read you that morning1 you know4 ,in your garden--that dreadful day8 ,yes6 ,won't it do as it is8 ,it would have been a glorious book4 ,it is a glorious book1 ,neil ,paraday murmured4 ,print it as it stands--beautifully4 ,beautifully6 ,i passionately promised4 ,it may be imagined whether1 now that he has gone1 the promise seems to me less sacred4 ,i am convinced that if such pages had appeared in his lifetime the ,abbey would hold him to-day4 ,i have kept the advertising in my own hands1 but the manuscript has not been recovered4 ,it's impossible1 and at any rate intolerable1 to suppose it can have been wantonly destroyed4 ,perhaps some chance blundering hand1 some brutal ignorance has lighted kitchen-fires with it4 ,every stupid and hideous accident haunts my meditations4 ,my undiscourageable search for the lost treasure would make a long chapter4 ,fortunately ,i have a devoted associate in the person of a young lady who has every day a fresh indignation and a fresh idea and who maintains with intensity that the prize will still turn up4 ,sometimes ,i believe her1 but ,i have quite ceased to believe myself4 ,the only thing for us1 at all events1 is to go on seeking and hoping together2 and we should be closely united by this firm tie even were we not at present by another4 ,l',education ,sentimentale ,by ,aubrey ,beardsley ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,l',education ,sentimentale ,tree-,worship ,by ,richard ,le ,gallienne ,vast and mysterious brother1 ere was yet of me ,so much as men may poise upon a needle's end1 ,still shook with laughter all this monstrous might of thee1 ,and still with haughty crest it called the morning friend4 ,thy latticed column jetted up the bright blue air1 ,tall as a mast it was1 and stronger than a tower2 ,three hundred winters had beheld thee mighty there1 ,before my little life had lived one little hour4 ,with rocky foot stern-set like iron in the land1 ,with leafy rustling crest the morning sows with pearls1 ,huge as a minster1 half in heaven men saw thee stand1 ,thy rugged girth the waists of fifty ,eastern girls4 ,knotted and warted1 slabbed and armoured like the hide ,of tropic elephant2 unstormable and steep ,as some grim fortress with a princess-pearl inside1 ,where savage guardian faces beard the bastioned keep3 ,so hard a rind1 old tree1 shielding so soft a heart1 ,a woman's heart of tender little nestling leaves2 ,nor rind so hard but that a touch so soft can part1 ,and spring's first baby-bud an easy passage cleaves4 ,i picture thee within with dainty satin sides1 ,where all the long day through the sleeping dryad dreams1 ,but when the moon bends low and taps thee thrice she glides1 ,knowing the fairy knock1 to bask within her beams4 ,and all the long night through1 for him with eyes and ears1 ,she sways within thine arms and sings a fairy tune1 ,till1 startled with the dawn1 she softly disappears1 ,and sleeps and dreams again until the rising moon4 ,but with the peep of day great bands of heavenly birds ,fill all thy branchy chambers with a thousand flutes1 ,and with the torrid noon stroll up the weary herds1 ,to seek thy friendly shade and doze about thy roots2 ,till with the setting sun they turn them once more home3 ,and1 ere the moon dawns1 for a brief enchanted space1 ,weary with million miles1 the sore-spent star-beams come1 ,and moths and bats hold witches' sabbath in the place4 ,and then ,i picture thee some bloodstained ,holyrood1 ,dread haunted palace of the bat and owl1 whence steal1 ,shrouded all day1 lost murdered spirits of the wood1 ,and fright young happy nests with homeless hoot and squeal4 ,some ,rizzio nightingale that plained adulterous love ,beneath the boudoir-bough of some fast-married bird1 ,some dove that cooed to some one else's lawful dove1 ,and felt the dagger-beak pierce while his lady heard4 ,then1 maybe1 dangling from thy gloomy gallows boughs1 ,a human corpse swings1 mournful1 rattling bones and chains-- ,his eighteenth century flesh hath fattened nineteenth century cows-- ,ghastly olian harp fingered of winds and rains4 ,poor ,rizpah comes to reap each newly-fallen bone ,that once thrilled soft1 a little limb1 within her womb2 ,and mark yon alchemist1 with zodiac-spangled zone1 ,wrenching the mandrake root that fattens in the gloom4 ,so rounds thy day1 from maiden morn to haunted night1 ,from larks and sunlit dreams to owl and gibbering ghost2 ,a catacomb of dark1 a sponge of living light1 ,to the wide sea of air a green and welcome coast4 ,i seek a god1 old tree3 accept my worship1 thou6 ,all other gods have failed me always in my need4 ,i hang my votive song beneath thy temple bough1 ,unto thy strength ,i cry--,old monster1 be my creed6 ,give me to clasp this earth with feeding roots like thine1 ,to mount yon heaven with such star-aspiring head1 ,fill full with sap and buds this shrunken life of mine1 ,and from my boughs ,o might such stalwart sons be shed6 ,with loving cheek pressed close against thy horny breast1 ,i hear the roar of sap mounting within thy veins2 ,tingling with buds1 thy great hands open towards the west1 ,to catch the sweetheart wind that brings the sister rains4 ,o winds that blow from out the fruitful mouth of ,god1 ,o rains that softly fall from his all-loving eyes1 ,you that bring buds to trees and daisies to the sod1 ,o ,god's best ,angel of the ,spring1 in me arise4 ,le ,puy en ,velay ,by ,joseph ,pennell ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,le ,puy en ,velay ,a ,defence of ,cosmetics ,by ,max ,beerbohm ,nay1 but it is useless to protest4 ,artifice must queen it once more in the town1 and so1 if there be any whose hearts chafe at her return1 let them not say1 ,we have come into evil times1 and be all for resistance1 reformation or angry cavilling4 ,for did the king's sceptre send the sea retrograde1 or the wand of the sorcerer avail to turn the sun from its old course8 ,and what man or what number of men ever stayed that reiterated process by which the cities of this world grow1 are very strong1 fail and grow again8 ,indeed1 indeed1 there is charm in every period1 and only fools and flutterpates do not seek reverently for what is charming in their own day4 ,no martyrdom1 however fine1 nor satire1 however splendidly bitter1 has changed by a little tittle the known tendency of things4 ,it is the times that can perfect us1 not we the times1 and so let all of us wisely acquiesce4 ,like the little wired marionettes1 let us acquiesce in the dance4 ,for behold6 ,the ,victorian era comes to its end and the day of sancta simplicitas is quite ended4 ,the old signs are here and the portents to warn the seer of life that we are ripe for a new epoch of artifice4 ,are not men rattling the dice-box and ladies dipping their fingers in the rouge-pots8 ,at ,rome1 in the keenest time of her degringolade1 when there was gambling even in the holy temples1 great ladies 7does not ,lucian tell us87 did not scruple to squander all they had upon unguents from ,arabia4 ,nero's mistress and unhappy wife1 ,poppa1 of shameful memory1 had in her travelling retinue fifteen--or1 as some say1 fifty--she-asses1 for the sake of their milk1 that was thought an incomparable guard against cosmetics with poison in them4 ,last century1 too1 when life was lived by candle-light1 and ethics was but etiquette1 and even art a question of punctilio1 women1 we know1 gave the best hours of the day to the crafty farding of their faces and the towering of their coiffures4 ,and men1 throwing passion into the wine-bowl to sink or swim1 turned out thought to browse upon the green cloth4 ,cannot we even now in our fancy see them1 those silent exquisites round the long table at ,brooks'1 masked1 all of them1 lest the countenance should betray feeling1 in quinze masks1 through whose eyelets they sat peeping1 peeping1 while macao brought them riches or ruin8 ,we can see them1 those silent rascals1 sitting there with their cards and their rouleaux and their wooden money-bowls1 long after the dawn had crept up ,st4 ,james' and pressed its haggard face against the window of the little club4 ,yes1 we can raise their ghosts--and1 more1 we can see manywhere a devotion to hazard fully as meek as theirs4 ,in ,england there has been a wonderful revival of cards4 ,roulette may rival dead faro in the tale of her devotees4 ,her wheel is spinning busily in every house and ere long it may be that tender parents will be writing to complain of the compulsory baccarat in our public schools4 ,in fact1 we are all gamblers once more1 but our gambling is on a finer scale than ever it was4 ,we fly from the card-room to the heath1 and from the heath to the ,city1 and from the ,city to the coast of the ,mediterranean4 ,and just as no one seriously encourages the clergy in its frantic efforts to lay the spirit of chance1 that has thus resurged among us1 so no longer are many faces set against that other great sign of a more complicated life1 the love for cosmetics4 ,no longer is a lady of fashion blamed if1 to escape the outrageous persecution of time1 she fly for sanctuary to the toilet-table2 and if a damosel1 prying in her mirror1 be sure that with brush and pigment she can trick herself into more charm1 we are not angry4 ,indeed1 why should we ever have been8 ,surely it is laudable1 this wish to make fair the ugly and overtop fairness1 and no wonder that within the last five years the trade of the makers of cosmetics has increased immoderately--twentyfold1 so one of these makers has said to me4 ,we need but walk down any modish street and peer into the little broughams that flit past1 or 7in ,thackeray's phrase7 under the bonnet of any woman we meet1 to see over how wide a kingdom rouge reigns4 ,we men1 who1 from ,juvenal down to that discourteous painter of whom ,lord ,chesterfield tells us1 have especially shown a dislike of cosmetics1 are quite yielding2 and there are1 ,i fancy1 many such husbands as he who1 suddenly realising that his wife was painted1 bad her sternly1 ,go up and take it all off1 and1 on her reappearance1 bad her with increasing sternness1 ,go up and put it all on again4 ,but now that the use of pigments is becoming general1 and most women are not so young as they are painted1 it may be asked curiously how the prejudice ever came into being4 ,indeed1 it is hard to trace folly1 for that it is inconsequent1 to its start2 and perhaps it savours too much of reason to suggest that the prejudice was due to the tristful confusion man has made of soul and surface4 ,through trusting so keenly to the detection of the one by keeping watch upon the other1 and by force of the thousand errors following1 he has come to think of surface even as the reverse of soul4 ,he supposes that every clown beneath his paint and lip-salve is moribund and knows it1 7though in verity1 ,i am told1 clowns are as cheerful a class of men as any other71 that the fairer the fruit's rind and the more delectable its bloom1 the closer are packed the ashes within it4 ,the very jargon of the hunting-field connects cunning with a mask4 ,and so perhaps came man's anger at the embellishment of women--that lovely mask of enamel with its shadows of pink and tiny pencilled veins1 what must lurk behind it8 ,of what treacherous mysteries may it not be the screen8 ,does not the heathen lacquer her dark face1 and the harlot paint her cheeks1 because sorrow has made them pale8 ,after all1 the old prejudice is a-dying4 ,we need not pry into the secret of its birth4 ,rather is this a time of jolliness and glad indulgence4 ,for the era of rouge is upon us1 and as only in an elaborate era can man by the tangled accrescency of his own pleasures and emotions reach that refinement which is his highest excellence1 and by making himself1 so to say1 independent of ,nature1 come nearest to ,god1 so only in an elaborate era is woman perfect4 ,artifice is the strength of the world1 and in that same mask of paint and powder1 shadowed with vermeil tinct and most trimly pencilled1 is woman's strength4 ,for see6 ,we need not look so far back to see woman under the direct influence of ,nature4 ,early in this century1 our grandmothers1 sickening of the odour of faded exotics and spilt wine1 came out into the daylight once more and let the breezes blow around their faces and enter1 sharp and welcome1 into their lungs4 ,artifice they drove forth1 and they set ,martin ,tupper upon a throne of mahogany to rule over them4 ,a very reign of terror set in4 ,all things were sacrificed to the fetish ,nature4 ,old ladies may still be heard to tell how1 when they were girls1 affectation was not2 and1 if we verify their assertion in the light of such literary authorities as ,dickens1 we find that it is absolutely true4 ,women appear to have been in those days utterly natural in their conduct--flighty1 gushing1 blushing1 fainting1 giggling and shaking their curls4 ,they knew no reserve in the first days of the ,victorian era4 ,no thought was held too trivial1 no emotion too silly1 to express4 ,to ,nature everything was sacrificed4 ,great heavens6 ,and in those barren days what influence was exerted by women8 ,by men they seem not to have been feared nor loved1 but regarded rather as dear little creatures or wonderful little beings1 and in their relation to life as foolish and ineffectual as the landscapes they did in water-colour4 ,yet1 if the women of those years were of no great account1 they had a certain charm and they at least had not begun to trespass upon men's ground2 if they touched not thought1 which is theirs by right1 at any rate they refrained from action1 which is ours4 ,far more serious was it when1 in the natural trend of time1 they became enamoured of rinking and archery and galloping along the ,brighton ,parade4 ,swiftly they have sped on since then from horror to horror4 ,the invasion of the tennis-courts and of the golf-links1 the seizure of the tricycle and of the type-writer1 were but steps preliminary in that campaign which is to end with the final victorious occupation of ,st4 ,stephen's4 ,but stay6 ,the horrific pioneers of womanhood who gad hither and thither and1 confounding wisdom with the device on her shield1 shriek for the unbecoming1 are doomed4 ,though they spin their tricycle-treadles so amazingly fast1 they are too late4 ,though they scream victory1 none follow them4 ,artifice1 that fair exile1 has returned4 ,yes1 though the pioneers know it not1 they are doomed already4 ,for of the curiosities of history not the least strange is the manner in which two social movements may be seen to overlap1 long after the second has1 in truth1 given its deathblow to the first4 ,and1 in like manner as one has seen the limbs of a murdered thing in lively movement1 so we need not doubt that1 though the voices of those who cry out for reform be very terribly shrill1 they will soon be hushed4 ,dear ,artifice is with us4 ,it needed but that we should wait4 ,surely1 without any of my pleading1 women will welcome their great and amiable protectrix1 as by instinct4 ,for 7have ,i not said87 it is upon her that all their strength1 their life almost1 depends4 ,artifice's first command to them is that they should repose4 ,with bodily activity their powder will fly1 their enamel crack4 ,they are butterflies who must not flit1 if they love their bloom4 ,now1 setting aside the point of view of passion1 from which very many obvious things might be said1 7and probably have been by the minor poets71 it is1 from the intellectual point of view1 quite necessary that a woman should repose4 ,hers is the resupinate sex4 ,on her couch she is a goddess1 but so soon as ever she put her foot to the ground--lo1 she is the veriest little sillypop and quite done for4 ,she cannot rival us in action1 but she is our mistress in the things of the mind4 ,let her not by second-rate athletics1 nor indeed by any exercise soever of the limbs1 spoil the pretty procedure of her reason4 ,let her be content to remain the guide1 the subtle suggester of what we must do1 the strategist whose soldiers we are1 the little architect whose workmen4 ,after all1 as a pretty girl once said to me1 women are a sex by themselves1 so to speak1 and the sharper the line between their worldly functions and ours1 the better4 ,this greater swiftness and less erring subtlety of mind1 their forte and privilege1 justifies the painted mask that ,artifice bids them wear4 ,behind it their minds can play without let4 ,they gain the strength of reserve4 ,they become important1 as in the days of the ,roman ,empire were the ,emperor's mistresses1 as was the ,pompadour at ,versailles1 as was our ,elizabeth4 ,yet do not their faces become lined with thought2 beautiful and without meaning are their faces4 ,and1 truly1 of all the good things that will happen with the full renascence of cosmetics1 one of the best is that surface will finally be severed from soul4 ,that damnable confusion will be solved by the extinguishing of a prejudice which1 as ,i suggest1 itself created4 ,too long has the face been degraded from its rank as a thing of beauty to a mere vulgar index of character or emotion4 ,we had come to troubling ourselves1 not with its charm of colour and line1 but with such questions as whether the lips were sensuous1 the eyes full of sadness1 the nose indicative of determination4 ,i have no quarrel with physiognomy4 ,for my own part1 ,i believe in it4 ,but it has tended to degrade the face sthetically1 in such wise as the study of cheirosophy has tended to degrade the hand4 ,and the use of cosmetics1 the masking of the face1 will change this4 ,we shall gaze at a woman merely because she is beautiful1 not stare into her face anxiously1 as into the face of a barometer4 ,how fatal it has been1 in how many ways1 this confusion of soul and surface6 ,wise were the ,greeks in making plain masks for their mummers to play in1 and dunces we not to have done the same6 ,only the other day1 an actress was saying that what she was most proud of in her art--next1 of course1 to having appeared in some provincial pantomime at the age of three--was the deftness with which she contrived1 in parts demanding a rapid succession of emotions1 to dab her cheeks quite quickly with rouge from the palm of her right hand1 or powder from the palm of her left4 ,gracious goodness6 why do not we have masks upon the stage8 ,drama is the presentment of the soul in action4 ,the mirror of the soul is the voice4 ,let the young critics1 who seek a cheap reputation for austerity1 by cavilling at incidental music1 set their faces rather against the attempt to justify inferior dramatic art by the subvention of a quite alien art like painting1 of any art1 indeed1 whose sphere is only surface4 ,let those1 again1 who sneer1 so rightly1 at the painted anecdotes of the ,academy1 censure equally the writers who trespass on painter's ground4 ,it is a proclaimed sin that a painter should concern himself with a good little girl's affection for a ,scotch greyhound1 or the keen enjoyment of their port by elderly gentlemen of the early 'forties4 ,yet1 for a painter to prod the soul with his paint-brush is no worse than for a novelist to refuse to dip under the surface1 and the fashion of avoiding a psychological study of grief by stating that the owner's hair turned white in a single night1 or of shame by mentioning a sudden rush of scarlet to the cheeks1 is as lamentable as may be4 ,but6 ,but with the universal use of cosmetics and the consequent secernment of soul and surface1 which1 at the risk of irritating a reader1 ,i must again insist upon1 all those old properties that went to bolster up the ordinary novel--the trembling lips1 the flashing eyes1 the determined curve of the chin1 the nervous trick of biting the moustache--aye and the hectic spot of red on either cheek--will be made spiflicate1 as the puppets were spiflicated by ,don ,quixote4 ,yes1 even now ,demos begins to discern4 ,the same spirit that has revived rouge1 smote his mouth as it grinned at the wondrous painter of mist and river1 and now sends him sprawling for the pearls that ,meredith dived for in the deep waters of romance4 ,indeed the revival of cosmetics must needs be so splendid an influence1 conjuring boons innumerable1 that one inclines almost to mutter against that inexorable law by which ,artifice must perish from time to time4 ,that such branches of painting as the staining of glass or the illuminating of manuscripts should fall into disuse seems in comparison1 so likely2 these were esoteric arts2 they died with the monastic spirit4 ,but personal appearance is art's very basis4 ,the painting of the face is the first kind of painting man can have known4 ,to make beautiful things--is it not an impulse laid upon few8 ,but to make oneself beautiful is an universal instinct4 ,strange that the resultant art could ever perish6 ,so fascinating an art too6 ,so various in its materials from stimmis1 psimythium and fuligo to bismuth and arsenic1 so simple in that its ground and its subject-matter are one1 so marvellous in that its very subject-matter becomes lovely when an artist has selected it6 ,for surely this is no idle nor fantastic saying4 ,to deny that making-up is an art1 on the pretext that the finished work of its exponents depends for beauty and excellence upon the ground chosen for the work1 is absurd4 ,at the touch of a true artist1 the plainest face turns comely4 ,as subject-matter the face is no more than suggestive1 as ground1 merely a loom round which the beatus artifex may spin the threads of any golden fabric3 ,quae nunc nomen habent operosi signa ,maronis ,pondus iners quondam duraque massa fuit4 ,multa viros nescire decet2 pars maxima rerum ,offendat1 si non interiora tegas1 and1 as ,ovid would seem to suggest1 by pigments any tone may be set aglow on a woman's cheek1 from enamel the features take any form4 ,insomuch that surely the advocates of soup-kitchens and free-libraries and other devices for giving people what providence did not mean them to receive1 should send out pamphlets in the praise of self-embellishment4 ,for it will place ,beauty within easy reach of many who could not otherwise hope to attain it4 ,but of course ,artifice is rather exacting4 ,in return for the repose she forces--so wisely6--upon her followers when the sun is high or the moon is blown across heaven1 she demands that they should pay her long homage at the sun's rising4 ,the initiate may not enter lightly upon her mysteries4 ,for1 if a bad complexion be inexcusable1 to be ill-painted is unforgivable2 and when the toilet is laden once more with the fulness of its elaboration1 we shall hear no more of the proper occupation for women4 ,and think1 how sweet an energy1 to sit at the mirror of coquetry6 ,see the dear merits of the toilet as shown upon old vases1 or upon the walls of ,roman dwellings1 or1 rather still1 read ,bttiger's alluring1 scholarly description of ,morgenscenen im ,puttzimmer ,einer ,reichen ,rmerin4 ,read of ,sabina's face as she comes through the curtain of her bed-chamber to the chamber of her toilet4 ,the slave-girls have long been chafing their white feet upon the marble floor4 ,they stand1 those timid ,greek girls1 marshalled in little battalions4 ,each has her appointed task1 and all kneel in welcome as ,sabina stalks1 ugly and frowning1 to the toilet chair4 ,scaphion steps forth from among them1 and1 dipping a tiny sponge in a bowl of hot milk1 passes it lightly1 ever so lightly1 over her mistress' face4 ,the ,poppan pastes melt beneath it like snow4 ,a cooling lotion is poured over her brow and is fanned with feathers4 ,phiale comes after1 a clever girl1 captured in some sea-skirmish in the ,aegean4 ,in her left hand she holds the ivory box wherein are the phucus and that white powder1 psimythium2 in her right a sheaf of slim brushes4 ,with how sure a touch does she mingle the colours1 and in what sweet proportion blushes and blanches her lady's upturned face4 ,phiale is the cleverest of all the slaves4 ,now ,calamis dips her quill in a certain powder that floats1 liquid and sable1 in the hollow of her palm4 ,standing upon tip-toe and with lips parted1 she traces the arch of the eyebrows4 ,the slaves whisper loudly of their lady's beauty1 and two of them hold up a mirror to her4 ,yes1 the eyebrows are rightly arched4 ,but why does ,psecas abase herself8 ,she is craving leave to powder ,sabina's hair with a fine new powder4 ,it is made of the grated rind of the cedar-tree1 and a ,gallic perfumer1 whose stall is near the ,circus1 gave it to her for a kiss4 ,no lady in ,rome knows of it4 ,and so1 when four special slaves have piled up the head-dress1 out of a perforated box this glistening powder is showered4 ,into every little brown ringlet it enters1 till ,sabina's hair seems like a pile of gold coins4 ,lest the breezes send it flying1 the girls lay the powder with sprinkled attar4 ,soon ,sabina will start for the ,temple of ,cybele4 ,ah6 ,such are the lures of the toilet that none will for long hold aloof from them4 ,cosmetics are not going to be a mere prosaic remedy for age or plainness1 but all ladies and all young girls will come to love them4 ,does not a certain blithe ,marquise1 whose lettres intimes from the ,court of ,louis ,seize are less read than their wit would merit1 tell us how she was scandalised to see mme les toutes jeunes demoiselles mailles comme ma tabatire8 ,so it shall be with us4 ,surely the common prejudice against painting the lily can but be based on mere ground of economy4 ,that which is already fair is complete1 it may be urged--urged implausibly1 for there are not so many lovely things in this world that we can afford not to know each one of them by heart4 ,there is only one white lily1 and who that has ever seen--as ,i have--a lily really well painted could grudge the artist so fair a ground for his skill8 ,scarcely do you believe through how many nice metamorphoses a lily may be passed by him4 ,in like manner1 we all know the young girl1 with her simpleness1 her goodness1 her wayward ignorance4 ,and a very charming ideal for ,england must she have been1 and a very natural one1 when a young girl sat even on the throne4 ,but no nation can keep its ideal for ever and it needed none of ,mr4 ,gilbert's delicate satire in ,utopia to remind us that she had passed out of our ken with the rest of the early ,victorian era4 ,what writer of plays1 as lately asked some pressman1 who had been told off to attend many first nights and knew what he was talking about1 ever dreams of making the young girl the centre of his theme8 ,rather he seeks inspiration from the tried and tired woman of the world1 in all her intricate maturity1 whilst1 by way of comic relief1 he sends the young girl flitting in and out with a tennis-racket1 the poor eidlon amauron of her former self4 ,the season of the unsophisticated is gone by1 and the young girl's final extinction beneath the rising tides of cosmetics will leave no gap in life and will rob art of nothing4 ,tush1 ,i can hear some damned flutterpate exclaim1 girlishness and innocence are as strong and as permanent as womanhood itself6 ,why1 a few months past1 the whole town went mad over ,miss ,cissie ,loftus6 ,was not hers a success of girlish innocence and the absence of rouge8 ,if such things as these be outmoded1 why was she so wildly popular8 ,indeed1 the triumph of that clever girl1 whose dbut made ,london nice even in ,august1 is but another witness to the truth of my contention4 ,in a very sophisticated time1 simplicity has a new dulcedo4 ,hers was a success of contrast4 ,accustomed to clever malaperts like ,miss ,lloyd or ,miss ,reeve1 whose experienced pouts and smiles under the sun-bonnet are a standing burlesque of innocence and girlishness1 ,demos was really delighted1 for once and away1 to see the real presentment of these things upon his stage4 ,coming after all those sly serios1 coming so young and mere with her pink frock and straightly combed hair1 ,miss ,cissie ,loftus had the charm which things of another period often do possess4 ,besides1 just as we adored her for the abrupt nod with which she was wont at first to acknowledge the applause1 so we were glad for her to come upon the stage with nothing to tinge the ivory of her cheeks4 ,it seemed so strange1 that neglect of convention4 ,to be behind footlights and not rouged6 ,yes1 hers was a success of contrast4 ,she was like a daisy in the window at ,solomons'4 ,she was delightful4 ,and yet1 such is the force of convention1 that when last ,i saw her1 playing in some burlesque at the ,gaiety1 her fringe was curled and her pretty face rouged with the best of them4 ,and1 if further need be to show the absurdity of having called her performance a triumph of naturalness over the jaded spirit of modernity1 let us reflect that the little mimic was not a real old-fashioned girl after all4 ,she had none of that restless naturalness that would seem to have characterised the girl of the early ,victorian days4 ,she had no pretty ways--no smiles nor blushes nor tremors4 ,possibly ,demos could not have stood a presentment of girlishness unrestrained4 ,but with her grave insouciance1 ,miss ,cissie ,loftus had much of the reserve that is one of the factors of feminine perfection1 and to most comes only1 as ,i have said1 with artifice4 ,her features played very1 very slightly4 ,and in truth1 this may have been one of the reasons of her great success4 ,for expression is but too often the ruin of a face2 and1 since we cannot as yet so order the circumstances of life that women shall never be betrayed into an unbecoming emotion1 when the brunette shall never have cause to blush1 and the lady who looks well with parted lips be kept in a permanent state of surprise1 the safest way by far is to create1 by brush and pigments1 artificial expressions for every face4 ,and this--say you8--will make monotony8 ,you are mistaken1 toto coelo mistaken4 ,when your mistress has wearied you with one expression1 then it will need but a few touches of that pencil1 a backward sweep of that brush1 and lo1 you will be revelling in another4 ,for though1 of course1 the painting of the face is1 in manner1 most like the painting of canvas1 in outcome it is rather akin to the art of music--lasting1 like music's echo1 not for very long4 ,so that1 no doubt1 of the many little appurtenances of the ,reformed ,toilet ,table1 not the least vital will be a list of the emotions that become its owner1 with recipes for simulating them4 ,according to the colour she wills her hair to be for the time--black or yellow or1 peradventure1 burnished red--she will blush for you1 sneer for you1 laugh or languish for you4 ,the good combinations of line and colour are nearly numberless1 and by their means poor restless woman will be able to realise her moods in all their shades and lights and dappledoms1 to live many lives and masquerade through many moments of joy4 ,no monotony will be4 ,and for us men matrimony will have lost its sting4 ,but be it remembered6 ,though we men will garner these oblique boons1 it is into the hands of women that ,artifice gives her pigments4 ,i know1 ,i know that many men in a certain sect of society have shown a marked tendency to the use of cosmetics4 ,i speak not of the countless gentlemen who walk about town in the time of its desertion from ,august to ,october1 artificially bronzed1 as though they were fresh from the moors or from the ,solent4 ,this1 ,i conceive1 is done for purely social reasons and need not concern me here4 ,rather do ,i speak of those who make themselves up1 seemingly with an sthetic purpose4 ,doubtless--,i wish to be quite just--there are many who look the better for such embellishment2 but1 at the hazard of being thought old-fashioned and prejudiced1 ,i cannot speak of the custom with anything but strong disapproval4 ,if men are to lie among the rouge-pots1 inevitably it will tend to promote that amalgamation of the sexes which is one of the chief planks in the decadent platform and to obtund that piquant contrast between him and her1 which is one of the redeeming features of creation4 ,besides1 really1 men have not the excuse of facial monotony1 that holds in the case of women4 ,have we not hair upon our chins and upper lips8 ,and can we not1 by diverting the trend of our moustache or by growing our beard in this way or that1 avoid the boredom of looking the same for long8 ,let us beware4 ,for if1 in violation of unwritten sexual law1 men take to trifling with the paints and brushes that are feminine heritage1 it may be that our great ladies will don false imperials1 and the little doner deck her pretty chin with a ,newgate fringe6 ,after all1 ,i think we need not fear that many men will thus trespass4 ,most of them are in the ,city nowadays1 and the great wear and tear of that place would put their use of rouge--that demands bodily repose from its dependents--quite outside the range of practical sthetics4 ,but that in the world of women they will not neglect this art1 so ripping in itself1 in its result so wonderfully beneficent1 ,i am sure indeed4 ,much1 ,i have said1 is already done for its full renascence4 ,the spirit of the age has made straight the path of its professors4 ,fashion has made ,jezebel surrender her monopoly of the rouge-pot4 ,as yet1 the great art of self-embellishment is for us but in its infancy4 ,but if ,englishwomen can bring it to the flower of an excellence so supreme as never yet has it known1 then1 though ,old ,england may lose her martial and commercial supremacy1 we patriots will have the satisfaction of knowing that she has been advanced at one bound to a place in the councils of sthetic ,europe4 ,and1 in sooth1 is this hoping too high of my countrywomen8 ,true that1 as the art seems always to have appealed to the ladies of ,athens1 and it was not until the waning time of the ,republic that ,roman ladies learned to love the practice of it1 so ,paris1 ,athenian in this as in all other things1 has been noted hitherto as a far more vivid centre of the art than ,london4 ,but it was in ,rome1 under the ,emperors1 that unguentaria reached its zenith1 and shall it not be in ,london1 soon1 that unguentaria shall outstrip its ,roman perfection8 ,surely there must be among us artists as cunning in the use of brush and puff as any who lived at ,versailles4 ,surely the splendid1 impalpable advance of good taste1 as shown in dress and in the decoration of houses1 may justify my hope of the preminence of ,englishwomen in the cosmetic art4 ,by their innate delicacy of touch they will accomplish much1 and much1 of course1 by their swift feminine perception4 ,yet it were well that they should know something also of the theoretical side of the craft4 ,modern authorities upon the mysteries of the toilet are1 it is true1 rather few2 but among the ancients many a writer would seem to have been fascinated by them4 ,archigenes1 a man of science at the ,court of ,cleopatra1 and ,criton at the ,court of the ,emperor ,trajan1 both wrote treatises upon cosmetics--doubtless most scholarly treatises that would have given many a precious hint4 ,it is a pity they are not extant4 ,from ,lucian or from ,juvenal1 with his bitter picture of a ,roman leve1 much may be learnt2 from the staid pages of ,xenophon and ,aristophanes' dear farces4 ,but best of all is that fine book of the ,ars ,amatoria that ,ovid has set aside for the consideration of dyes1 perfumes and pomades4 ,written by an artist who knew the allurements of the toilet and understood its philosophy1 it remains without rival as a treatise upon ,artifice4 ,it is more than a poem1 it is a manual2 and if there be left in ,england any lady who cannot read ,latin in the original1 she will do well to procure a discreet translation4 ,in the ,bodleian ,library there is treasured the only known copy of a very poignant and delightful rendering of this one book of ,ovid's masterpiece4 ,it was made by a certain ,wye ,waltonstall1 who lived in the days of ,elizabeth1 and1 seeing that he dedicated it to the ,vertuous ,ladyes and ,gentlewomen of ,great ,britain1 ,i am sure that the gallant writer1 could he know of our great renascence of cosmetics1 would wish his little work to be placed once more within their reach4 ,inasmuch as to you1 ladyes and gentlewomen1 so he writes in his queer little dedication1 my booke of pigments doth first addresse itself1 that it may kisse your hands and afterward have the lines thereof in reading sweetened by the odour of your breath1 while the dead letters formed into words by your divided lips may receive new life by your passionate expression1 and the words marryed in that ,ruby coloured temple may thus happily united1 multiply your contentment4 ,it is rather sad to think that1 at this crisis in the history of pigments1 the ,vertuous ,ladyes and ,gentlewomen cannot read the libellus of ,wye ,waltonstall1 who did so dearly love pigments4 ,but since the days when these great critics wrote their treatises1 with what gifts innumerable has ,artifice been loaded by ,science6 ,many little partitions must be added to the narthecium before it can comprehend all the new cosmetics that have been quietly devised since classical days1 and will make the modern toilet chalks away more splendid in its possibilities4 ,a pity that no one has devoted himself to the compiling of a new list2 but doubtless all the newest devices are known to the admirable unguentarians of ,bond ,street1 who will impart them to their clients4 ,our thanks1 too1 should be given to ,science for ridding us of the old danger that was latent in the use of cosmetics4 ,nowadays they cannot1 being purged of any poisonous element1 do harm to the skin that they make beautiful4 ,there need be no more sowing the seeds of destruction in the furrows of time1 no martyrs to the cause like ,georgina ,gunning1 that fair dame but infelix1 who died1 so they relate1 from the effect of a poisonous rouge upon her lips4 ,no1 we need have no fears now4 ,artifice will claim not another victim from among her worshippers4 ,loveliness shall sit at the toilet1 watching her oval face in the oval mirror4 ,her smooth fingers shall flit among the paints and powder1 to tip and mingle them1 catch up a pencil1 clasp a phial1 and what not and what not1 until the mask of vermeil tinct has been laid aptly1 the enamel quite hardened4 ,and1 heavens1 how she will charm us and ensorcel our eyes6 ,positively rouge will rob us for a time of all our reason2 we shall go mad over masks4 ,was it not at ,capua that they had a whole street where nothing was sold but dyes and unguents8 ,we must have such a street1 and1 to fill our new ,seplasia1 our ,arcade of the ,unguents1 herbs and minerals and live creatures shall give of their substance4 ,the white cliffs of ,albion shall be ground to powder for loveliness1 and perfumed by the ghost of many a little violet4 ,the fluffy eider-ducks1 that are swimming round the pond1 shall lose their feathers1 that the powder-puff may be moonlike as it passes over loveliness's lovely face4 ,even the camels shall become ministers of delight1 giving their hair in many tufts to be stained by the paints in her colour-box1 and across her cheek the swift hare's foot shall fly as of old4 ,the sea shall offer her the phucus1 its scarlet weed4 ,we shall spill the blood of mulberries at her bidding4 ,and1 as in another period of great ecstasy1 a dancing wanton1 la belle ,aubrey1 was crowned upon a church's lighted altar1 so ,arsenic1 that green-tress'd goddess1 ashamed at length of skulking between the soup of the unpopular and the test-tubes of the ,queen's analyst1 shall be exalted to a place of highest honour upon loveliness's toilet-table4 ,all these things shall come to pass4 ,times of jolliness and glad indulgence6 ,for ,artifice1 whom we drove forth1 has returned among us1 and1 though her eyes are red with crying1 she is smiling forgiveness4 ,she is kind4 ,let us dance and be glad1 and trip the cockawhoop6 ,artifice1 sweetest exile1 is come into her kingdom4 ,let us dance her a welcome6 ,daimonizomenos ,by ,arthur ,christopher ,benson ,you were clear as a sandy spring ,after a drought1 when its waters run ,evenly1 sparingly1 filtering ,into the eye of the sun4 ,love you took with a placid smile1 ,pain you bore with a hopeful sigh1 ,never a thought of gain or guile ,slept in your wide blue eye4 ,suddenly1 once1 at a trivial word1-- ,side by side together we stept1-- ,rose a tempest that swayed and stirred2 ,over your soul it swept4 ,dismal visitants1 suddenly1 ,pulled the doors in your house of clay2 ,out of the windows there stared at me ,something horrible1 grey4 ,the ,old ,oxford ,music ,hall ,by ,walter ,sickert ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,the ,old ,oxford ,music ,hall ,irremediable ,by ,ella ,d',arcy ,a young man strolled along a country road one ,august evening after a long delicious day--a day of that blessed idleness the man of leisure never knows3 one must be a bank clerk forty-nine weeks out of the fifty-two before one can really appreciate the exquisite enjoyment of doing nothing for twelve hours at a stretch4 ,willoughby had spent the morning lounging about a sunny rickyard2 then1 when the heat grew unbearable1 he had retreated to an orchard1 where1 lying on his back in the long cool grass1 he had traced the pattern of the apple-leaves diapered above him upon the summer sky2 now that the heat of the day was over he had come to roam whither sweet fancy led him1 to lean over gates1 view the prospect and meditate upon the pleasures of a well-spent day4 ,five such days had already passed over his head1 fifteen more remained to him4 ,then farewell to freedom and clean country air6 ,back again to ,london and another year's toil4 ,he came to a gate on the right of the road4 ,behind it a foot-path meandered up over a glassy slope4 ,the sheep nibbling on its summit cast long shadows down the hill almost to his feet4 ,road and field-path were equally new to him1 but the latter offered greener attractions2 he vaulted lightly over the gate and had so little idea he was taking thus the first step towards ruin that he began to whistle ,white ,wings from pure joy of life4 ,the sheep stopped feeding and raised their heads to stare at him from pale-lashed eyes2 first one and then another broke into a startled run1 until there was a sudden woolly stampede of the entire flock4 ,when ,willoughby gained the ridge from which they had just scattered he came in sight of a woman sitting on a stile at the further end of the field4 ,as he advanced towards her he saw that she was young and that she was not what is called a lady--of which he was glad3 an earlier episode in his career having indissolubly associated in his mind ideas of feminine refinement with those of feminine treachery4 ,he thought it probable this girl would be willing to dispense with the formalities of an introduction and that he might venture with her on some pleasant foolish chat4 ,as she made no movement to let him pass he stood still1 and1 looking at her1 began to smile4 ,she returned his gaze from unabashed dark eyes and then laughed1 showing teeth white1 sound1 and smooth as split hazel-nuts4 ,do you wanter get over8 she remarked familiarly4 ,i'm afraid ,i can't without disturbing you4 ,dontcher think you're much better where you are8 said the girl1 on which ,willoughby hazarded3 ,you mean to say looking at you8 ,well1 perhaps ,i am6 ,the girl at this laughed again1 but nevertheless dropped herself down into the further field2 then1 leaning her arms upon the cross-bar1 she informed the young man3 ,no1 ,i don't wanter spoil your walk4 ,you were goin' p'raps ter ,beacon ,point8 ,it's very pretty that wye4 ,i was going nowhere in particular1 he replied3 just exploring1 so to speak4 ,i'm a stranger in these parts4 ,how funny6 ,imer stranger here too4 ,i only come down larse ,friday to stye with a ,naunter mine in ,horton4 ,are you stying in ,horton8 ,willoughby told her he was not in ,orton1 but at ,povey ,cross ,farm out in the other direction4 ,oh1 ,mrs4 ,payne's1 ain't it8 ,i've heard aunt speak ovver4 ,she takes summer boarders1 don't chee8 ,i egspec you come from ,london1 heh8 ,and ,i expect you come from ,london too8 said ,willoughby1 recognising the familiar accent4 ,you're as sharp as a needle1 cried the girl with her unrestrained laugh2 so ,i do4 ,i'm here for a hollerday 'cos ,i was so done up with the work and the hot weather4 ,i don't look as though ,i'd bin ill1 do ,i8 ,but ,i was1 though3 for it was just stifflin' hot up in our workrooms all larse month1 an' tailorin's awful hard work at the bester times4 ,willoughby felt a sudden accession of interest in her4 ,like many intelligent young men1 he had dabbled a little in ,socialism and at one time had wandered among the dispossessed2 but since then1 had caught up and held loosely the new doctrine--,it is a good and fitting thing that woman also should earn her bread by the sweat of her brow4 ,always in reference to the woman who1 fifteen months before1 had treated him ill1 he had said to himself that even the breaking of stones in the road should be considered a more feminine employment than the breaking of hearts4 ,he gave way therefore to a movement of friendliness for this working daughter of the people1 and joined her on the other side of the stile in token of his approval4 ,she1 twisting round to face him1 leaned now with her back against the bar1 and the sunset fires lent a fleeting glory to her face4 ,perhaps she guessed how becoming the light was1 for she took off her hat and let it touch to gold the ends and fringes of her rough abundant hair4 ,thus and at this moment she made an agreeable picture1 to which stood as background all the beautiful wooded ,southshire view4 ,you don't really mean to say you are a tailoress8 said ,willoughby with a sort of eager compassion4 ,i do1 though6 ,an' ,i've bin one ever since ,i was fourteen4 ,look at my fingers if you don't b'lieve me4 ,she put out her right hand1 and he took hold of it1 as he was expected to do4 ,the finger-ends were frayed and blackened by needle-pricks1 but the hand itself was plump1 moist1 and not unshapely4 ,she meanwhile examined ,willoughby's fingers enclosing hers4 ,it's easy ter see you've never done no work6 she said1 half admiring1 half envious4 ,i s'pose you're a tip-top swell1 ain't you8 ,oh1 yes6 ,i'm a tremendous swell indeed6 said ,willoughby ironically4 ,he thought of his hundred and thirty pounds' salary2 and he mentioned his position in the ,british and ,colonial ,banking house1 without shedding much illumination on her mind2 for she insisted3 ,well1 anyhow1 you're a gentleman4 ,i've often wished ,i was a lady4 ,it must be so nice ter wear fine clo'es an' never have ter do any work all day long4 ,willoughby thought it innocent of the girl to say this2 it reminded him of his own notion as a child--that kings and queens put on their crowns the first thing on rising in the morning4 ,his cordiality rose another degree4 ,if being a gentleman means having nothing to do1 said he1 smiling1 ,i can certainly lay no claim to the title4 ,life isn't all beer and skittles with me1 any more than it is with you4 ,which is the better reason for enjoying the present moment1 don't you think8 ,suppose1 now1 like a kind little girl1 you were to show me the way to ,beacon ,point1 which you say is so pretty8 ,she required no further persuasion4 ,as he walked beside her through the upland fields where the dusk was beginning to fall1 and the white evening moths to emerge from their daytime hiding-places1 she asked him many personal questions1 most of which he thought fit to parry4 ,taking no offence thereat1 she told him1 instead1 much concerning herself and her family4 ,thus he learned her name was ,esther ,stables1 that she and her people lived ,whitechapel way2 that her father was seldom sober1 and her mother always ill2 and that the aunt with whom she was staying kept the post-office and general shop in ,orton village4 ,he learned1 too1 that ,esther was discontented with life in general2 that1 though she hated being at home1 she found the country dreadfully dull2 and that1 consequently1 she was extremely glad to have made his acquaintance4 ,but what he chiefly realised when they parted was that he had spent a couple of pleasant hours talking nonsense with a girl who was natural1 simple-minded1 and entirely free from that repellently protective atmosphere with which a woman of the classes so carefully surrounds herself4 ,he and ,esther had made friends with the ease and rapidity of children before they have learned the dread meaning of etiquette1 and they said good-night1 not without some talk of meeting each other again4 ,obliged to breakfast at a quarter to eight in town1 ,willoughby was always luxuriously late when in the country1 where he took his meals also in leisurely fashion1 often reading from a book propped up on the table before him4 ,but the morning after his meeting with ,esther ,stables found him less disposed to read than usual4 ,her image obtruded itself upon the printed page1 and at length grew so importunate he came to the conclusion the only way to lay it was to confront it with the girl herself4 ,wanting some tobacco1 he saw a good reason for going into ,orton4 ,esther had told him he could get tobacco and everything else at her aunt's4 ,he found the post-office to be one of the first houses in the widely spaced village-street4 ,in front of the cottage was a small garden ablaze with old-fashioned flowers2 and in a larger garden at one side were apple-trees1 raspberry and currant bushes1 and six thatched beehives on a bench4 ,the bowed windows of the little shop were partly screened by sunblinds2 nevertheless the lower panes still displayed a heterogeneous collection of goods--lemons1 hanks of yarn1 white linen buttons upon blue cards1 sugar cones1 churchwarden pipes1 and tobacco jars4 ,a letter-box opened its narrow mouth low down in one wall1 and over the door swung the sign1 ,stamps and money-order office1 in black letters on white enamelled iron4 ,the interior of the shop was cool and dark4 ,a second glass-door at the back permitted ,willoughby to see into a small sitting-room1 and out again through a low and square-paned window to the sunny landscape beyond4 ,silhouetted against the light were the heads of two women3 the rough young head of yesterday's ,esther1 the lean outline and bugled cap of ,esther's aunt4 ,it was the latter who at the jingling of the door-bell rose from her work and came forward to serve the customer2 but the girl1 with much mute meaning in her eyes and a finger laid upon her smiling mouth1 followed behind4 ,her aunt heard her footfall4 ,what do you want here1 ,esther8 she said with thin disapproval2 get back to your sewing4 ,esther gave the young man a signal seen only by him and slipped out into the side-garden1 where he found her when his purchases were made4 ,she leaned over the privet-hedge to intercept him as he passed4 ,aunt's an awful ole maid1 she remarked apologetically2 ,i b'lieve she'd never let me say a word to enny one if she could help it4 ,so you got home all right last night8 ,willoughby inquired2 what did your aunt say to you8 ,oh1 she arst me where ,i'd been1 and ,i tolder a lotter lies6 ,then1 with woman's intuition1 perceiving that this speech jarred1 ,esther made haste to add1 ,she's so dreadful hard on me6 ,i dursn't tell her ,i'd been with a gentleman or she'd never have let me out alone again4 ,and at present ,i suppose you'll be found somewhere about that same stile every evening8 said ,willoughby foolishly1 for he really did not much care whether he met her again or not4 ,now he was actually in her company he was surprised at himself for having given her a whole morning's thought2 yet the eagerness of her answer flattered him1 too4 ,to-night ,i can't come1 worse luck6 ,it's ,thursday1 and the shops here close of a ,thursday at five4 ,i'll havter keep aunt company4 ,but to-morrer8--,i can be there to-morrer4 ,you'll come1 say8 ,esther6 cried a vexed voice1 and the precise1 right-minded aunt emerged through the row of raspberry-bushes2 whatever are you thinking about1 delayin' the gentleman in this fashion8 ,she was full of rustic and official civility for the gentleman1 but indignant with her niece4 ,i don't want none of your ,london manners down here1 ,willoughby heard her say as she marched the girl off4 ,he himself was not sorry to be released from ,esther's too friendly eyes1 and he spent an agreeable evening over a book1 and this time managed to forget her completely4 ,though he remembered her first thing next morning1 it was to smile wisely and determine he would not meet her again4 ,yet by dinner-time the day seemed long2 why1 after all1 should he not meet her8 ,by tea-time prudence triumphed anew--no1 he would not go4 ,then he drank his tea hastily and set off for the stile4 ,esther was waiting for him4 ,expectation had given an additional colour to her cheeks1 and her red-brown hair showed here and there a beautiful glint of gold4 ,he could not help admiring the vigorous way in which it waved and twisted1 or the little curls which grew at the nape of her neck1 tight and close as those of a young lamb's fleece4 ,her neck here was admirable1 too1 in its smooth creaminess2 and when her eyes lighted up with such evident pleasure at his coming1 how avoid the conviction she was a good and nice girl after all8 ,he proposed they should go down into the little copse on the right1 where they would be less disturbed by the occasional passerby4 ,here1 seated on a felled tree-trunk1 ,willoughby began that bantering silly meaningless form of conversation known among the classes as flirting4 ,he had but the wish to make himself agreeable1 and to while away the time4 ,esther1 however1 misunderstood him4 ,willoughby's hand lay palm downwards on his knee1 and she noticing a ring which he wore on his little finger1 took hold of it4 ,what a funny ring6 she said2 let's look8 ,to disembarrass himself of her touch he pulled the ring off and gave it her to examine4 ,what's that ugly dark green stone8 she asked4 ,it's called a sardonyx4 ,what's it for8 she said1 turning it about4 ,it's a signet ring1 to seal letters with4 ,an' there's a sorter king's head scratched on it1 an' some writin' too1 only ,i carn't make it out8 ,it isn't the head of a king1 although it wears a crown1 ,willoughby explained1 but the head and bust of a ,saracen against whom my ancestor of many hundred years ago went to fight in the ,holy ,land4 ,and the words cut round it are the motto of our house1 ',vertue vaunceth1' which means virtue prevails4 ,willoughby may have displayed some slight accession of dignity in giving this bit of family history1 for ,esther fell into uncontrolled laughter1 at which he was much displeased4 ,and when the girl made as though she would put the ring on her own finger1 asking1 ,shall ,i keep it8 he coloured up with sudden annoyance4 ,it was only my fun6 said ,esther hastily1 and gave him the ring back1 but his cordiality was gone4 ,he felt no inclination to renew the idle-word pastime1 said it was time to go back1 and1 swinging his cane vexedly1 struck off the heads of the flowers and the weeds as he went4 ,esther walked by his side in complete silence1 a phenomenon of which he presently became conscious4 ,he felt rather ashamed of having shown temper4 ,well1 here's your way home1 said he with an effort at friendliness4 ,good-bye1 we've had a nice evening anyhow4 ,it was pleasant down there in the woods1 eh8 ,he was astonished to see her eyes soften with tears1 and to hear the real emotion in her voice as she answered1 ,it was just heaven down there with you until you turned so funny-like4 ,what had ,i done to make you cross8 ,say you forgive me1 do6 ,silly child6 said ,willoughby1 completely mollified1 ,i'm not the least angry4 ,there6 good-bye6 and like a fool he kissed her4 ,he anathematised his folly in the white light of next morning1 and1 remembering the kiss he had given her1 repented it very sincerely4 ,he had an uncomfortable suspicion she had not received it in the same spirit in which it had been bestowed1 but1 attaching more serious meaning to it1 would build expectations thereon which must be left unfulfilled4 ,it were best indeed not to meet her again2 for he acknowledged to himself that1 though he only half liked1 and even slightly feared1 her1 there was a certain attraction about her--was it in her dark unflinching eyes or in her very red lips8--which might lead him into greater follies still4 ,thus it came about that for two successive evenings ,esther waited for him in vain1 and on the third evening he said to himself with a grudging relief that by this time she had probably transferred her affections to some one else4 ,it was ,saturday1 the second ,saturday since he left town4 ,he spent the day about the farm1 contemplated the pigs1 inspected the feeding of the stock1 and assisted at the afternoon milking4 ,then at evening1 with a refilled pipe1 he went for a long lean over the west gate1 while he traced fantastic pictures and wove romances in the glories of the sunset clouds4 ,he watched the colours glow from gold to scarlet1 change to crimson1 sink at last to sad purple reefs and isles1 when the sudden consciousness of some one being near him made him turn round4 ,there stood ,esther1 and her eyes were full of eagerness and anger4 ,why have you never been to the stile again8 she asked him4 ,you promised to come faithful1 and you never came4 ,why have you not kep your promise8 ,why8--why8 she persisted1 stamping her foot because ,willoughby remained silent4 ,what could he say6 ,tell her she had no business to follow him like this2 or own1 what was1 unfortunately1 the truth1 he was just a little glad to see her8 ,p'raps you don't care to see me8 she said4 ,well1 why did you kiss me1 then8 ,why1 indeed6 thought ,willoughby1 marvelling at his own idiotcy1 and yet--such is the inconsistency of man--not wholly without the desire to kiss her again4 ,and while he looked at her she suddenly flung herself down on the hedge-bank at his feet and burst into tears4 ,she did not cover up her face1 but simply pressed one cheek down upon the grass while the water poured from her eyes with astonishing abundance4 ,willoughby saw the dry earth turn dark and moist as it drank the tears in4 ,this1 his first experience of ,esther's powers of weeping1 distressed him horribly2 never in his life before had he seen anyone weep like that2 he should not have believed such a thing possible1 and he was alarmed1 too1 lest she should be noticed from the house4 ,he opened the gate2 ,esther6 he begged1 don't cry4 ,come out here1 like a dear girl1 and let us talk sensibly4 ,because she stumbled1 unable to see her way through wet eyes1 he gave her his hand1 and they found themselves in a field of corn1 walking along the narrow grass-path that skirted it1 in the shadow of the hedgerow4 ,what is there to cry about because you have not seen me for two days8 he began2 why1 ,esther1 we are only strangers1 after all4 ,when we have been at home a week or two we shall scarcely remember each other's names4 ,esther sobbed at intervals1 but her tears had ceased4 ,it's fine for you to talk of home1 she said to this4 ,you've got something that is a home1 ,i s'pose8 ,but me6 my home's like hell1 with nothing but quarrellin' and cursin'1 and father who beats us whether sober or drunk4 ,yes6 she repeated shrewdly1 seeing the lively disgust on ,willoughby's face1 he beat me1 all ill as ,i was1 jus' before ,i come away4 ,i could show you the bruises on my arms still4 ,and now to go back there after knowin' you6 ,it'll be worse than ever4 ,i can't endure it and ,i won't6 ,i'll put an end to it or myself somehow1 ,i swear6 ,but1 my poor ,esther1 how can ,i help it1 what can ,i do8 said ,willoughby4 ,he was greatly moved1 full of wrath with her father1 with all the world which makes women suffer4 ,he had suffered himself at the hands of a woman1 and severely1 but this1 instead of hardening his heart1 had only rendered it the more supple4 ,and yet he had a vivid perception of the peril in which he stood4 ,an interior voice urged him to break away1 to seek safety in flight even at the cost of appearing cruel or ridiculous2 so1 coming to a point in the field where an elm-bole jutted out across the path1 he saw with relief he could now withdraw his hand from the girl's1 since they must walk singly to skirt round it4 ,esther took a step in advance1 stopped and suddenly turned to face him2 she held out her two hands and her face was very near his own4 ,don't you care for me one little bit8 she said wistfully1 and surely sudden madness fell upon him4 ,for he kissed her again1 he kissed her many times1 and pushed all thoughts of the consequences far from him4 ,but some of these consequences already called loudly to him as he and ,esther reached the last gate on the road to ,orton4 ,you know ,i have only #acj a year8 he told her3 it's no very brilliant prospect for you to marry me on that4 ,for he had actually offered her marriage1 although such conduct to the mediocre man must appear incredible or at least uncalled for4 ,but to ,willoughby it seemed the only course possible4 ,how else justify his kisses1 rescue her from her father's brutality1 or bring back the smiles to her face8 ,as for ,esther1 sudden exultation had leaped in her heart2 then ere fifty seconds were gone by1 she was certain she would never have consented to anything less4 ,o6 ,i'me used to managin'1 she told him confidently1 and mentally resolved to buy herself1 so soon as she was married1 a black feather boa1 such as she had coveted last winter4 ,willoughby spent the remaining days of his holiday in thinking out and planning with ,esther the details of his return to ,london and her own1 the secrecy to be observed1 the necessary legal steps to be taken1 and the quiet suburb in which they would set up housekeeping4 ,and1 so successfully did he carry out his arrangements1 that within five weeks from the day on which he had first met ,esther ,stables he and she came out one morning from a church in ,highbury husband and wife4 ,it was a mellow ,september day1 the streets were filled with sunshine1 and ,willoughby1 in reckless high spirits1 imagined he saw a reflection of his own gaiety on the indifferent faces of the passers-by4 ,there being no one else to perform the office he congratulated himself very warmly1 and ,esther's frequent laughter filled in the pauses of the day4 ,three months later ,willoughby was dining with a friend1 and the hour-hand of the clock nearing ten the host no longer resisted the guest's growing anxiety to be gone4 ,he arose and exchanged with him good wishes and good-byes4 ,marriage is evidently a most successful institution1 said he1 half jesting1 half sincere2 you almost make me inclined to go and get married myself4 ,confess now your thoughts have been at home the whole evening8 ,willoughby thus addressed turned red to the roots of his hair1 but did not deny the soft impeachment4 ,the other laughed4 ,and very commendable they should be1 he continued1 since you are scarcely1 so to speak1 out of your honeymoon4 ,with a social smile on his lips ,willoughby calculated a moment before replying1 ,i have been married exactly three months and three days2 then1 after a few words respecting their next meeting1 the two shook hands and parted1 the young host to finish the evening with books and pipe1 the young husband to set out on a twenty minutes' walk to his home4 ,it was a cold clear ,december night following a day of rain4 ,a touch of frost in the air had dried the pavements1 and ,willoughby's footfall ringing upon the stones re-echoed down the empty suburban street4 ,above his head was a dark remote sky thickly powdered with stars1 and as he turned westward ,alpherat hung for a moment comme le point sur un i1 over the slender spire of ,st4 ,john's4 ,but he was insensible to the worlds about him2 he was absorbed in his own thoughts1 and these1 as his friend had surmised1 were entirely with his wife4 ,for ,esther's face was always before his eyes1 her voice was always in his ears1 she filled the universe for him2 yet only four months ago he had never seen her1 had never heard her name4 ,this was the curious part of it--here in ,december he found himself the husband of a girl who was completely dependent upon him not only for food1 clothes1 and lodging1 but for her present happiness1 her whole future life2 and last ,july he had been scarcely more than a boy himself1 with no greater care on his mind than the pleasant difficulty of deciding where he should spend his annual three weeks' holiday4 ,but it is events1 not months or years1 which age4 ,willoughby1 who was only twenty-six1 remembered his youth as a sometime companion irrevocably lost to him2 its vague1 delightful hopes were now crystallised into definite ties1 and its happy irresponsibility displaced by a sense of care inseparable perhaps from the most fortunate of marriages4 ,as he reached the street in which he lodged his pace involuntarily slackened4 ,while still some distance off his eye sought out and distinguished the windows of the room in which ,esther awaited him4 ,through the broken slats of the ,venetian blinds he could see the yellow gaslight within4 ,the parlour beneath was in darkness2 his landlady had evidently gone to bed1 there being no light over the hall door either4 ,in some apprehension he consulted his watch under the last street-lamp he passed1 to find comfort in assuring himself it was only ten minutes after ten4 ,he let himself in with his latch-key1 hung up his hat and overcoat by the sense of touch1 and1 groping his way upstairs1 opened the door of the first floor sitting-room4 ,at the table in the centre of the room sat his wife1 leaning upon her elbows1 her two hands thrust up into her ruffled hair2 spread out before her was a crumpled yesterday's newspaper1 and so interested was she to all appearance in its contents that she neither spoke nor looked up as ,willoughby entered4 ,around her were the still uncleared tokens of her last meal3 tea-slops1 bread-crumbs1 and an eggshell crushed to fragments upon a plate1 which was one of those trifles that set ,willoughby's teeth on edge--whenever his wife ate an egg she persisted in turning the egg-cup upside down upon the tablecloth1 and pounding the shell to pieces in her plate with her spoon4 ,the room was repulsive in its disorder4 ,the one lighted burner of the gaselier1 turned too high1 hissed up into a long tongue of flame4 ,the fire smoked feebly under a newly administered shovelful of slack1 and a heap of ashes and cinders littered the grate4 ,a pair of walking boots1 caked in dry mud1 lay on the hearthrug just where they had been thrown off4 ,on the mantelpiece1 amidst a dozen other articles which had no business there1 was a bedroom-candlestick2 and every single article of furniture stood crookedly out of its place4 ,willoughby took in the whole intolerable picture1 and yet spoke with kindliness4 ,well1 ,esther6 ,i'm not so late1 after all4 ,i hope you did not feel the time dull by yourself8 ,then he explained the reason of his absence4 ,he had met a friend he had not seen for a couple of years1 who had insisted on taking him home to dine4 ,his wife gave no sign of having heard him2 she kept her eyes rivetted on the paper before her4 ,you received my wire1 of course1 ,willoughby went on1 and did not wait8 ,now she crushed the newspaper up with a passionate movement1 and threw it from her4 ,she raised her head1 showing cheeks blazing with anger1 and dark1 sullen1 unflinching eyes4 ,i did wyte then6 she cried4 ,i wyted till near eight before ,i got your old telegraph6 ,i s'pose that's what you call the manners of a 'gentleman1' to keep your wife mewed up here1 while you go gallivantin' off with your fine friends8 ,whenever ,esther was angry1 which was often1 she taunted ,willoughby with being a gentleman1 although this was the precise point about him which at other times found most favour in her eyes4 ,but to-night she was envenomed by the idea he had been enjoying himself without her1 stung by fear lest he should have been in company with some other woman4 ,willoughby1 hearing the taunt1 resigned himself to the inevitable4 ,nothing that he could do might now avert the breaking storm1 all his words would only be twisted into fresh griefs4 ,but sad experience had taught him that to take refuge in silence was more fatal still4 ,when ,esther was in such a mood as this it was best to supply the fire with fuel1 that1 through the very violence of the conflagration1 it might the sooner burn itself out4 ,so he said what soothing things he could1 and ,esther caught them up1 disfigured them1 and flung them back at him with scorn4 ,she reproached him with no longer caring for her2 she vituperated the conduct of his family in never taking the smallest notice of her marriage2 and she detailed the insolence of the landlady1 who had told her that morning she pitied poor ,mr4 ,willoughby1 and had refused to go out and buy herrings for ,esther's early dinner4 ,every affront or grievance1 real or imaginary1 since the day she and ,willoughby had first met1 she poured forth with a fluency due to frequent repetition1 for1 with the exception of to-day's added injuries1 ,willoughby had heard the whole litany many times before4 ,while she raged and he looked at her1 he remembered he had once thought her pretty4 ,he had seen beauty in her rough brown hair1 her strong colouring1 her full red mouth4 ,he fell into musing 444 a woman may lack beauty1 he told himself1 and yet be loved4444 ,meantime ,esther reached white heats of passion1 and the strain could no longer be sustained4 ,she broke into sobs and began to shed tears with the facility peculiar to her4 ,in a moment her face was all wet with the big drops which rolled down her cheeks faster and faster and fell with audible splashes on to the table1 on to her lap1 on to the floor4 ,to this tearful abundance1 formerly a surprising spectacle1 ,willoughby was now acclimatised2 but the remnant of chivalrous feeling not yet extinguished in his bosom forbade him to sit stolidly by while a woman wept1 without seeking to console her4 ,as on previous occasions1 his peace-overtures were eventually accepted4 ,esther's tears gradually ceased to flow1 she began to exhibit a sort of compunction1 she wished to be forgiven1 and1 with the kiss of reconciliation1 passed into a phase of demonstrative affection perhaps more trying to ,willoughby's patience than all that had preceded it4 ,you don't love me8 she questioned1 ,i'm sure you don't love me8 she reiterated2 and he asseverated that he loved her until he loathed himself4 ,then at last1 only half satisfied1 but wearied out with vexation--possibly1 too1 with a movement of pity at the sight of his haggard face--she consented to leave him2 only what was he going to do8 she asked suspiciously3 write those rubbishing stories of his8 ,well1 he must promise not to stay up more than half an hour at the latest--only until he had smoked one pipe6 ,willoughby promised1 as he would have promised anything on earth to secure to himself a half-hour's peace and solitude4 ,esther groped for her slippers1 which were kicked off under the table2 scratched four or five matches along the box and threw them away before she succeeded in lighting her candle2 set it down again to contemplate her tear-swollen reflection in the chimney-glass1 and burst out laughing4 ,what a fright ,i do look1 to be sure6 she remarked complacently1 and again thrust her two hands up through her disordered curls4 ,then1 holding the candle at such an angle that the grease ran over on to the carpet1 she gave ,willoughby another vehement kiss and trailed out of the room with an ineffectual attempt to close the door behind her4 ,willoughby got up to shut it himself1 and wondered why it was that ,esther never did any one mortal thing efficiently or well4 ,good ,god6 how irritable he felt6 ,it was impossible to write4 ,he must find an outlet for his impatience1 rend or mend something4 ,he began to straighten the room1 but a wave of disgust came over him before the task was fairly commenced4 ,what was the use8 ,to-morrow all would be bad as ever4 ,what was the use of doing anything8 ,he sat down by the table and leaned his head upon his hands4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the past came back to him in pictures3 his boyhood's past first of all4 ,he saw again the old home1 every inch of which was familiar to him as his own name2 he reconstructed in his thought all the old well-known furniture1 and replaced it precisely as it had stood long ago4 ,he passed again a childish linger over the rough surface of the faded ,utrecht velvet chairs1 and smelled again the strong fragrance of the white lilac-tree1 blowing in through the open parlour-window4 ,he savoured anew the pleasant mental atmosphere produced by the dainty neatness of cultured women1 the companionship of a few good pictures1 of a few good books4 ,yet this home had been broken up years ago1 the dear familiar things had been scattered far and wide1 never to find themselves under the same roof again2 and from those near relatives who still remained to him he lived now hopelessly estranged4 ,then came the past of his first love-dream1 when he worshipped at the feet of ,nora ,beresford1 and1 with the wholeheartedness of the true fanatic1 clothed his idol with every imaginable attribute of virtue and tenderness4 ,to this day there remained a secret shrine in his heart wherein the ,lady of his young ideal was still enthroned1 although it was long since he had come to perceive she had nothing whatever in common with the ,nora of reality4 ,for the real ,nora he had no longer any sentiment3 she had passed altogether out of his life and thoughts2 and yet1 so permanent is all influence1 whether good or evil1 that the effect she wrought upon his character remained4 ,he recognised to-night that her treatment of him in the past did not count for nothing among the various factors which had determined his fate4 ,now the past of only last year returned1 and1 strangely enough1 this seemed farther removed from him than all the rest4 ,he had been particularly strong1 well and happy this time last year4 ,nora was dismissed from his mind1 and he had thrown all his energies into his work4 ,his tastes were sane and simple1 and his dingy1 furnished rooms had become through habit very pleasant to him4 ,in being his own they were invested with a greater charm than another man's castle4 ,here he had smoked and studied1 here he had made many a glorious voyage into the land of books4 ,many a home-coming1 too1 rose up before him out of the dark ungenial streets to a clean blazing fire1 a neatly laid cloth1 an evening of ideal enjoyment2 many a summer twilight when he mused at the open window1 plunging his gaze deep into the recesses of his neighbour's lime-tree1 where the unseen sparrows chattered with such unflagging gaiety4 ,he had always been given to much day-dreaming1 and it was in the silence of his rooms of an evening that he turned his phantasmal adventures into stories for the magazines2 here had come to him many an editorial refusal1 but1 here1 too1 he had received the news of his first unexpected success4 ,all his happiest memories were embalmed in those shabby1 badly furnished rooms4 ,now all was changed4 ,now might there be no longer any soft indulgence of the hour's mood4 ,his rooms and everything he owned belonged now to ,esther1 too4 ,she had objected to most of his photographs1 and had removed them4 ,she hated books1 and were he ever so ill-advised as to open one in her presence1 she immediately began to talk1 no matter how silent or how sullen her previous mood had been4 ,if he read aloud to her she either yawned despairingly1 or was tickled into laughter where there was no reasonable cause4 ,at first1 ,willoughby had tried to educate her and had gone hopefully to the task4 ,it is so natural to think you may make what you will of the woman who loves you4 ,but ,esther had no wish to improve4 ,she evinced all the self-satisfaction of an illiterate mind4 ,to her husband's gentle admonitions she replied with brevity that she thought her way quite as good as his2 or1 if he didn't approve of her pronunciation1 he might do the other thing1 she was too old to go to school again4 ,he gave up the attempt1 and1 with humiliation at his previous fatuity1 perceived that it was folly to expect a few weeks of his companionship could alter or pull up the impressions of years1 or rather of generations4 ,yet here he paused to admit a curious thing3 it was not only ,esther's bad habits which vexed him1 but habits quite unblameworthy in themselves1 and which he never would have noticed in another1 irritated him in her4 ,he disliked her manner of standing1 of walking1 of sitting in a chair1 of folding her hands4 ,like a lover he was conscious of her proximity without seeing her4 ,like a lover1 too1 his eyes followed her every movement1 his ear noted every change in her voice4 ,but1 then1 instead of being charmed by everything as the lover is1 everything jarred upon him4 ,what was the meaning of this8 ,to-night the anomaly pressed upon him3 he reviewed his position4 ,here was he quite a young man1 just twenty-six years of age1 married to ,esther1 and bound to live with her so long as life should last--twenty1 forty1 perhaps fifty years more4 ,every day of those years to be spent in her society2 he and she face to face1 soul to soul2 they two alone amid all the whirling1 busy1 indifferent world4 ,so near together in semblance1 in truth so far apart as regards all that makes life dear4 ,willoughby groaned4 ,from the woman he did not love1 whom he had never loved1 he might not again go free2 so much he recognised4 ,the feeling he had once entertained for ,esther1 strange compound of mistaken chivalry and flattered vanity1 was long since extinct2 but what1 then1 was the sentiment with which she inspired him8 ,for he was not indifferent to her--no1 never for one instant could he persuade himself he was indifferent1 never for one instant could he banish her from his thoughts4 ,his mind's eye followed her during his hours of absence as pertinaciously as his bodily eye dwelt upon her actual presence4 ,she was the principal object of the universe to him1 the centre around which his wheel of life revolved with an appalling fidelity4 ,what did it mean8 ,what could it mean8 he asked himself with anguish4 ,and the sweat broke out upon his forehead and his hands grew cold1 for on a sudden the truth lay there like a written word upon the tablecloth before him4 ,this woman1 whom he had taken to himself for better for worse1 inspired him with a passion--intense indeed1 all-masterful1 soul-subduing as ,love itself--4444 ,but when he understood the terror of his ,hatred1 he laid his head upon his arms and wept1 not facile tears like ,esther's1 but tears wrung out from his agonising1 unavailing regret4 ,portrait of a ,gentleman ,by ,will ,rothenstein ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,portrait of a ,gentleman ,two ,sonnets ,by ,william ,watson ,i--,the ,frontier ,at the hushed brink of twilight1--when1 as though ,some solemn journeying phantom paused to lay ,an ominous finger on the awestruck day1 ,earth holds her breath till that great presence go1-- ,a moment comes of visionary glow1 ,pendulous 'twixt the gold hour and the grey1 ,lovelier than these1 more eloquent than they ,of memory1 foresight1 and life's ebb and flow4 ,so have ,i known1 in some fair woman's face1 ,while viewless yet was ,time's more gross imprint1 ,the first1 faint1 hesitant1 elusive hint ,of that invasion of the vandal years ,seem deeper beauty than youth's cloudless grace1 ,wake subtler dreams1 and touch me nigh to tears4 ,,ii--,night on ,curbar ,edge1 ,derbyshire ,no echo of man's life pursues my ears2 ,nothing disputes this ,desolation's reign2 ,change comes not1 this dread temple to profane1 ,where time by ons reckons1 not by years4 ,its patient form one crag1 sole-stranded1 rears1 ,type of whate'er is destined to remain ,while yon still host encamped on ,night's waste plain ,keeps armd watch1 a million quivering spears4 ,hushed are the wild and wing'd lives of the moor2 ,the sleeping sheep nestle 'neath ruined wall1 ,or unhewn stones in random concourse hurled3 ,solitude1 sleepless1 listens at ,fate's door2 ,and there is built and 'stablisht over all ,tremendous ,silence1 older than the world4 ,the ,reflected ,faun ,by ,laurence ,housman ,reproduced by ,messrs4 ,carl ,hentschel ,co4 ,illustration3 ,the ,reflected ,faun ,a ,sentimental ,cellar ,by ,george ,saintsbury ,it would appear from the reference to a ,queen that the following piece was written in or with a view to the reign of ,queen ,anne1 though an anachronism or two 7such as a reference to the '#de and a quotation from ,adam ,smith7 may be noted4 ,on the other hand1 an occasional mixture of you and thou seems to argue a date before ,johnson4 ,it must at any rate have been composed for1 or in imitation of the style of1 one or other of the eighteenth-century collections of ,essays4 ,it chanced the other day that ,i had a mind to visit my old friend ,falernianus4 ,the maid who opened the door to me showed me into his study1 and apologised for her master's absence by saying that he was in the cellar4 ,he soon appeared1 and ,i rallied him a little on the gravity of his occupation4 ,falernianus1 ,i must tell you1 is neither a drunkard nor a man of fortune4 ,but he has a pretty taste in wine1 indulges it rather in collection than in consumption1 and arranges his cellar 7or1 as he sometimes calls it1 cellaret7 himself1 having no butler or other man-servant4 ,he took my pleasantry very good-humouredly2 and when ,i asked him further if ,i might behold this temple of his devotions he complied at once4 ',tis rather a chantry than a temple1 ,eugenius1 said he1 but you are very welcome to see it if you please2 and if you are minded to hear a sermon1 perhaps ,i can preach one different from what you may expect at an ,oracle of the ,bottle4 ,we soon reached the cavern1 which1 indeed1 was much less magnificent than that over which ,bacbuc presided2 and ,i perused1 not without interest 7for ,i had often tasted the contents71 the various bins in which bottles of different shapes and sizes were stowed away with a modest neatness4 ,falernianus amused himself1 and did not go so far as to weary me1 with some tales of luck or disappointment in his purchases1 of the singular improvement of this vintage1 and the mortifying conduct of that4 ,for these wine-lovers are curious in their phrase2 and it is not disgusting to hear them say regretfully that the claret of such and such a year has not spoken yet2 or that another was long under the curse of the seventies4 ,this last phrase1 indeed1 had a grandiloquent and romantic turn which half surprised me from my friend1 a humourist with a special horror of fine speech or writing1 and turning sharply ,i saw a smile on his lips4 ,but1 said ,i1 my ,falernianus1 your sermon8 ,for ,i scarce think that this wine-chat would be dignified by you with such a name4 ,you are right1 ,eugenius1 answered he1 but ,i do not quite know whether ,i am wise to disclose even to you the ruling fancy under which ,i have formed this little liquid museum1 or ,baccheum if you prefer it4 ,i think you may1 said ,i1 for in the first place we are old enough friends for such confidences1 and in the second ,i know you to be too much given to laugh at your own foibles to be greatly afraid of another's ridicule4 ,you say well1 he said1 so mark6 ,for if my sermon inflicts what our toasts call ennui upon you1 remember that in the words of their favourite ,molire1 ',you have willed it4' ,i do not1 ,eugenius1 pretend to be indifferent to good wine in itself4 ,but when ,i called this little cellar of mine just now a museum ,i did no dishonour to the daughters of ,mnemosyne4 ,for you will observe that wine1 by the fact of its keeping powers and by the other fact of its date being known1 is a sort of calendar made to the hand of whoso would commemorate1 with a festive solemnity1 the things that are1 as ,mr4 ,dryden says1 ',hid in the sacred treasure of the past4' ,if not the mere juice of the grape 7for the merit of the strongest wine after fifty or sixty years is mostly but itself a memory71 strong waters brewed on the day of a man's birth will keep their fire and gain ever fresh mellowness though he were to outlive the longest lifetime2 and in these little flasks here1 my ,eugenius1 you will find a cup of ,nantz that was born with me1 and that will keep its virtues long after thou and ,i have gone to solve the great enigma4 ,again1 thou seest those pints of red port which nestle together8 ,within a few days1 ,eugenius1 of the time when that must was foaming round the ,douro peasants1 ,i made mine entrance at the ,university4 ,you can imagine with what a mixture of tender and humorous feelings ,i quaff them now and then4 ,when their juice was tunned1 what amiable visions1 what boyish hopes floated before my eyes6 ,i was to carry off all that ,cam or ,isis had of honours or profit1 all that either could give of learning4 ,i was to have my choice of learned retirement on the one hand1 or of ardent struggle at the hoarse bar on the other1 with the prizes of the senate beyond4 ,they were scarce throwing down their crust when that dream faded2 they had scarce become drinkable by a hasty toper before ,i saw clearly that metaphysical aid was wanting1 and that a very different fate must be mine4 ,i make no moan over it1 ,eugenius1 and ,i puff away like a worse than prostitute as she is1 the demon ,envy when she whispers in my ear the names of ,titius or ,seius1 and adds1 ',had they better parts1 or only better stars than you8' ,but as they fable that the wine itself throbs with the early movement of the sap in the vines1 so1 ,eugenius1 when ,i sip that cordial 7and truth 'tis a noble vintage7 the old hopes1 the old follies1 the old dreams waken in me1 and ,i am once more eighteen4 ,look yonder again at those cobwebbed vessels of various shapes that lie side by side1 although of different vineyards1 in the peaceful bins4 ,they all date from a year in which the wheel of fortune brought honest men to the top in ,england2 and if only for a brief space1 as1 ,i am told1 they sing in ,north ,britain1 'the de'il went hame wi' a' the ,whigs before him' 7,i must tell you1 ,mr4 ----1 that ,falernianus1 though a loyal subject to our good ,queen1 is a most malignant ,tory1 and indeed ,i have heard him impeached of ,jacobitism by ill-willers74 ,but no more of politics4 ,he paused a moment and then went on3 ,i think ,i see you smile again1 ,eugenius1 and say to yourself1 ',these are but dry-lipped subjects for so flowing a calendar4' ,and to tell the truth1 my friend1 the main part of my ephemerides of this kind has been filled by the aid of the goddess who was ever nearest and kindest to ,bacchus4 ,in yonder bin lie phials of the mightiest port that ,lusitanian summers ever blackened1 and flasks of sack from the more southern parts of that peninsula1 which our ,ben or his son ,herrick would have loved4 ,in the same year which saw the pressing of these generous juices the earth was made more fair by the birth of ,bellamira and ,candiope4 ,the blackest purple of the ,lusitanian grape is not so black as the tresses of ,candiope's hair1 nor doth the golden glow of the sherris approach in flame the locks of ,bellamira2 but if ,i let the sunlight play through both1 ,love1 with fantastic triumph1 shows me1 as the bright motes flicker and flee through the sack1 the tawny eyes of ,candiope1 and the stain1 no longer black or purple1 but rosy red1 that floats from the ,oportian juice on the white napery1 recalls the velvet blush of ,bellamira's cheek4 ,and this8 ,i said1 pointing to a bin of ,bordeaux near me4 ,thou shalt try it this very day1 said ,falernianus with a laugh1 which ,i thought carried off some feelings a little overstrained2 'tis a right pleasant wine1 and they made it in the year when ,i first saw the lips of ,damaris4 ,the flavour is not unlike theirs1 and if it should fluster thine head a little1 and cause thee what men call heartburn1 ,i will not say that the effects are wholly dissimilar4 ,it is not like ,falernianus even to jest at women1 and ,i turned to another4 ,his face cleared4 ,many a year has passed1 he said1 since the grape that bore that juice was gathered1 and even as it was ripening it chanced that ,i met ,lalage and won her4 ,the wine was always good and the love likewise2 but in neither in their early years was there half the pleasure that there is now4 ,but ,i weary you1 ,eugenius1 and perhaps the philosopher speaks truly in saying that these things are not matters of sympathy1 or1 as the ,scripture saith1 a stranger is not partaker of them4 ,suffice it to say that these imprisoned rubies and topazes1 amethysts and jacinths1 never flash in the glass1 nor collect their deeper body of colour in the flagon1 without bringing a memory with them1 that my lips seldom kiss them without recalling other kisses1 my eye never beholds them without seeing other colours and other forms in 'the sessions of sweet silent thought4' ,at the refining of this elixir ,i assumed the virile gown2 when that nectar was fit for drinking ,i made my first appearance in the field of letters2 and this again recalls the death of dear friends and the waning of idle hopes4 ,when ,i am dead1 or if any reverse of fortune makes me part with this cabinet of quintessence1 it will pass to heirs or purchasers as so much good wine and nothing more4 ,to me it is that and much more--a casket of magic liquors1 a museum1 as ,i have called it1 of glasses like that of ,dr4 ,dee1 in which ,i see again the smile of beauty and the hope of youth1 in which once more ,i win1 lose1 possess1 conquer1 am defeated2 in which ,i live over again in the recesses of fantasy the vanished life of the past4 ,but it is not often that ,i preach in this fashion4 ,let us take a turn in the garden while they get dinner ready1 that you may taste1 and he smiled1 that you may taste--if you dare--the wine that ,i have likened to the lips of ,damaris4 ,night ,piece ,by ,aubrey ,beardsley ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,night ,piece ,stella ,maris by ,arthur ,symons ,why is it ,i remember yet ,you1 of all women one has met ,in random wayfare1 as one meets ,the chance romances of the streets1 ,the ,juliet of a night8 ,i know ,your heart holds many a ,romeo4 ,and ,i1 who call to mind your face ,in so serene a pausing-place1 ,where the bright pure expanse of sea1 ,the shadowy shore's austerity1 ,seems a reproach to you and me1 ,i too have sought on many a breast ,the ecstasy of love's unrest1 ,i too have had my dreams1 and met 7,ah me67 how many a ,juliet4 ,why is it1 then1 that ,i recall ,you1 neither first nor last of all8 ,for1 surely as ,i see to-night ,the glancing of the lighthouse light1 ,against the sky1 across the bay1 ,as turn by turn it falls my way1 ,so surely do ,i see your eyes ,out of the empty night arise1 ,child1 you arise and smile to me ,out of the night1 out of the sea1 ,the ,nereid of a moment there1 ,and is it seaweed in your hair8 ,o lost and wrecked1 how long ago1 ,out of the drownd past1 ,i know1 ,you come to call me1 come to claim ,my share of your delicious shame4 ,child1 ,i remember1 and can tell ,one night we loved each other well2 ,and one night's love1 at least or most1 ,is not so small a thing to boast4 ,you were adorable1 and ,i ,adored you to infinity1 ,that nuptial night too briefly borne ,to the oblivion of morn4 ,oh1 no oblivion6 for ,i feel ,your lips deliriously steal ,along my neck1 and fasten there2 ,i feel the perfume of your hair1 ,and your soft breast that heaves and dips1 ,desiring my desirous lips1 ,and that ineffable delight ,when souls turn bodies1 and unite ,in the intolerable1 the whole ,rapture of the embodied soul4 ,that joy was ours1 we passed it by2 ,you have forgotten me1 and ,i ,remember you thus strangely1 won ,an instant from oblivion4 ,and ,i1 remembering1 would declare ,that joy1 not shame1 is ours to share1 ,joy that we had the will and power1 ,in spite of fate1 to snatch one hour1 ,out of vague nights1 and days at strife1 ,so infinitely full of life4 ,and 'tis for this ,i see you rise1 ,a wraith1 with starlight in your eyes1 ,here1 where the drowsy-minded mood ,is one with ,nature's solitude2 ,for this1 for this1 you come to me ,out of the night1 out of the sea4 ,a ,study ,by ,sir ,frederic ,leighton1 ,p4,r4,a4 ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,a ,study ,two ,sketches ,by ,henry ,harland ,i--,mercedes ,when ,i was a child some one gave me a family of white mice4 ,i don't remember how old ,i was1 ,i think about ten or eleven2 but ,i remember very clearly the day ,i received them4 ,it must have been a ,thursday1 a half-holiday1 for ,i had come home from school rather early in the afternoon4 ,alexandre1 dear old ruddy round-faced ,alexandre1 who opened the door for me1 smiled in a way that seemed to announce1 ,there's a surprise in store for you1 sir4 ,then my mother smiled too1 a smile1 ,i thought1 of peculiar promise and interest4 ,after ,i had kissed her she said1 ,come into the dining-room4 ,there's something you will like4 ,perhaps ,i concluded it would be something to eat4 ,anyhow1 all agog with curiosity1 ,i followed her into the dining-room--and ,alexandre followed me1 anxious to take part in the rejoicing4 ,in the window stood a big cage1 enclosing the family of white mice4 ,i remember it as a very big cage indeed2 no doubt ,i should find it shrunken to quite moderate dimensions if ,i could see it again4 ,there were three generations of mice in it3 a fat old couple1 the founders of the race1 dozing phlegmatically on their laurels in a corner2 then a dozen medium-sized1 slender mice1 trim and youthful-looking1 rushing irrelevantly hither and thither1 with funny inquisitive little faces2 and then a squirming mass of pink things1 like caterpillars1 that were really infant mice1 newborn4 ,they didn't remain infants long1 though4 ,in a few days they had put on virile togas of white fur1 and were scrambling about the cage and nibbling their food as independently as their elders4 ,the rapidity with which my mice multiplied and grew to maturity was a constant source of astonishment to me4 ,it seemed as if every morning ,i found a new litter of young mice in the cage--though how they had effected an entrance through the wire gauze that lined it was a hopeless puzzle--and these would have become responsible1 self-supporting mice in no time4 ,my mother told me that somebody had sent me this soul-stirring present from the country1 and ,i dare say ,i was made to sit down and write a letter of thanks4 ,but ,i'm ashamed to own ,i can't remember who the giver was4 ,i have a vague notion that it was a lady1 an elderly maiden-lady--,mademoiselle 444 something that began with ,p--who lived near ,tours1 and who used to come to ,paris once or twice a year1 and always brought me a box of prunes4 ,alexandre carried the cage into my play-room1 and set it up against the wall4 ,i stationed myself in front of it1 and remained there all the rest of the afternoon1 gazing in1 entranced4 ,to watch their antics1 their comings and goings1 their labours and amusements1 to study their shrewd1 alert physiognomies1 to wonder about their feelings1 thoughts1 intentions1 to try to divine the meaning of their busy twittering language--it was such keen1 deep delight4 ,of course ,i was an anthropomorphist1 and read a great deal of human nature into them2 otherwise it wouldn't have been such fun4 ,i dragged myself reluctantly away when ,i was called to dinner4 ,it was hard that evening to apply myself to my school-books4 ,before ,i went to bed ,i paid them a parting visit2 they were huddled together in their nest of cotton-wool1 sleeping soundly4 ,and ,i was up at an unheard-of hour next morning1 to have a bout with them before going to school4 ,i found ,alexandre1 in his nightcap and long white apron1 occupied with the soins de propret1 as he said4 ,he cleaned out the cage1 put in fresh food and water1 and then1 pointing to the fat old couple1 the grandparents1 who stopped lazily abed1 sitting up and rubbing their noses together1 whilst their juniors scampered merrily about their affairs1 ,tiens6 ,on dirait ,monsieur et ,madame ,denis1 he cried4 ,i felt the appositeness of his allusion2 and the old couple were forthwith officially denominated ,monsieur and ,madame ,denis1 for their resemblance to the hero and heroine of the song--though which was ,monsieur1 and which ,madame1 ,i'm not sure that ,i ever clearly knew4 ,it was a little after this that ,i was taken for the first time in my life to the play4 ,i fancy the theatre must have been the ,porte ,st4 ,martin2 at any rate1 it was a theatre in the ,boulevard1 and towards the ,east1 for ,i remember the long drive we had to reach it4 ,and the piece was ,the ,count of ,monte ,cristo4 ,in my memory the adventure shines1 of course1 as a vague blur of light and joy2 a child's first visit to the play1 and that play ,the ,count of ,monte ,cristo6 ,it was all the breath-taking pleasantness of romance made visible1 audible1 actual4 ,a vague blur of light and joy1 from which only two details separate themselves4 ,first1 the prison scene1 and an aged man1 with a long white beard1 moving a great stone from the wall2 then--the figure of ,mercedes4 ,i went home terribly in love with ,mercedes4 ,surely there are no such grandes passions in maturer life as those helpless1 inarticulate ones we burn in secret with before our teens2 surely we never love again so violently1 desperately1 consumedly4 ,anyhow1 ,i went home terribly in love with ,mercedes4 ,and--do all children lack humour8--,i picked out the prettiest young ladyish-looking mouse in my collection1 cut off her moustaches1 adopted her as my especial pet1 and called her by the name of my dea cert4 ,all of my mice by this time had become quite tame4 ,they had plenty to eat and drink1 and a comfortable home1 and not a care in the world2 and familiarity with their master had bred assurance2 and so they had become quite tame and shamefully1 abominably lazy4 ,luxury1 we are taught1 was ever the mother of sloth4 ,i could put my hand in amongst them1 and not one would bestir himself the littlest bit to escape me4 ,mercedes and ,i were inseparable4 ,i used to take her to school with me every day2 she could be more conveniently and privately transported than a lamb4 ,each lycen had a desk in front of his form1 and she would spend the school-hours in mine1 ,i leaving the lid raised a little1 that she might have light and air4 ,one day1 the usher having left the room for a moment1 ,i put her down on the floor1 thereby creating a great excitement amongst my fellow-pupils1 who got up from their places and formed an eager circle round her4 ,then suddenly the usher came back1 and we all hurried to our seats1 while he1 catching sight of ,mercedes1 cried out1 ,a mouse6 ,a white mouse6 ,who dares to bring a white mouse to the class8 ,and he made a dash for her4 ,but she was too quick1 too 'cute1 for the likes of ,monsieur le ,pion4 ,she gave a jump1 and in the twinkling of an eye had disappeared up my leg1 under my trousers4 ,the usher searched high and low for her1 but she prudently remained in her hiding-place2 and thus her life was saved1 for when he had abandoned his ineffectual chase1 he announced1 ,i should have wrung her neck4 ,i turned pale to imagine the doom she had escaped as by a hair's breadth4 ,it is useless to ask which of you brought her here1 he continued4 ,but mark my words3 if ever ,i find a mouse again in the class ,i will wring her neck6 ,and yet1 in private life1 this bloodthirsty pion was a quite gentle1 kindly1 underfed1 underpaid1 shabby1 struggling fellow1 with literary aspirations1 who would not have hurt a fly4 ,the secrets of a schoolboy's pocket6 ,i once saw a boy surreptitiously angling in ,kensington ,gardens1 with a string and a bent pin4 ,presently he landed a fish1 a fish no bigger than your thumb1 perhaps1 but still a fish4 ,alive and wet and flopping as it was1 he slipped it into his pocket4 ,i used to carry ,mercedes about in mine4 ,one evening1 when ,i put in my hand to take her out1 ,i discovered to my bewilderment that she was not alone4 ,there were four little pink mites of infant mice clinging to her4 ,i had enjoyed my visit to the theatre so much that at the jour de l'an my father included a toy-theatre among my presents4 ,it had a real curtain of green baize1 that would roll up and down1 and beautiful coloured scenery that you could shift1 and footlights1 and a trap-door in the middle of the stage2 and indeed it would have been altogether perfect1 except for the ,company4 ,i have since learned that this is not infrequently the case with theatres4 ,my company consisted of pasteboard men and women who1 as artists1 struck me as eminently unsatisfactory4 ,they couldn't move their arms or legs1 and they had such stolid1 uninteresting faces4 ,i don't know how it first occurred to me to turn them all off1 and fill their places with my mice4 ,mercedes1 of course1 was leading lady2 ,monsieur and ,madame ,denis were the heavy parents2 and a gentlemanlike young mouse named ,leander was jeune premier4 ,then1 in my leisure1 they used to act the most tremendous plays4 ,i was stage-manager1 prompter1 playwright1 chorus1 and audience1 placing the theatre before a looking-glass1 so that1 though my duties kept me behind1 ,i could peer round the edge1 and watch the spectacle as from the front4 ,i would invent the lines and deliver them1 but1 that my illusion might be the more complete1 ,i would change my voice for each personage4 ,the lines tried hard to be verses2 no doubt they were vers libres4 ,at any rate1 they were mouth-filling and sonorous4 ,the first play we attempted1 ,i need hardly say1 was ,le ,comte de ,monte ,cristo1 such version of it as ,i could reconstruct from memory4 ,that had rather a long run4 ,then ,i dramatised ,aladdin and the ,wonderful ,lamp1 ,paul et ,virginie1 ,quentin ,durward1 and ,la ,dame de ,monsoreau4 ,mercedes made a charming ,diane1 ,leander a brilliant and dashing ,bussy2 ,monsieur ,denis was cast for the rle of ,frre ,gorenflot2 and a long1 thin1 cadaverous-looking mouse1 ,don ,quichotte by name1 somewhat inadequately represented ,chicot4 ,we began1 as you see1 with melodrama2 presently we descended to light comedy1 playing ,les ,mmoires d'un ,ane1 ,jean qui rit1 and other works of the immortal ,madame de ,sgur4 ,and then at last we turned a new leaf1 and became naturalistic4 ,we had never heard of the naturalist school1 though ,monsieur ,zola had already published some volumes of the ,rougon-,macquart2 but ideas are in the air2 and we1 for ourselves1 discovered the possibilities of naturalism simultaneously1 as it were1 with the acknowledged apostle of that form of art4 ,we would impersonate the characters of our own world--our schoolfellows and masters1 our parents1 servants1 friends--and carry them through experiences and situations derived from our impressions of real life4 ,perhaps we rather led them a dance2 and ,i dare say those we didn't like came in for a good deal of retributive justice4 ,it was a little universe1 of which we were the arch-arbiters1 our will the final law4 ,i don't know whether all children lack humour2 but ,i'm sure no grown-up author-manager can take his business more seriously than ,i took mine4 ,oh1 ,i enjoyed it hugely2 the hours ,i spent at it were enraptured hours2 but it was grim1 grim earnest4 ,after a while ,i began to long for a less subjective public1 a more various audience4 ,i would summon the servants1 range them in chairs at one end of the room1 conceal myself behind the theatre1 and spout the play with fervid solemnity4 ,and they would giggle1 and make flippant commentaries1 and at my most impassioned climaxes burst into guffaws4 ,my mice1 as has been said1 were overfed and lazy1 and ,i used to have to poke them through their parts with sticks from the wings2 but this was a detail which a superior imagination should have accepted as one of the conventions of the art4 ,it made the servants laugh1 however2 and when ,i would step to the front in person1 and1 with tears in my eyes1 beseech them to be sober1 they would but laugh the louder4 ,bless you1 sir1 they're only mice--ce ne sont que des souris1 the cook called out on one such occasion4 ,she meant it as an apology and a consolation1 but it was the unkindest cut of all4 ,only mice1 indeed6 ,to me they had been a young gentleman and lady lost in the ,desert of ,sahara1 near to die for the want of water1 and about to be attacked1 captured1 and sold into slavery1 by a band of ,bedouin ,arabs4 ,ah1 well1 the artist must steel himself to meet with indifference or derision from the public1 to be ignored1 misunderstood1 or jeered at2 and to rely for his real1 his legitimate1 reward on the pleasure he finds in his work4 ,and now there befell a great change in my life4 ,our home in ,paris was broken up1 and we moved to ,st4 ,petersburg4 ,it was impossible to take my mice with us2 their cage would have hopelessly complicated our impedimenta4 ,so we gave them to the children of our concierge4 ,mercedes1 however1 ,i was resolved ,i would not part with1 and ,i carried her all the way to the ,russian capital by hand4 ,in my heart ,i was looking to her to found another family--she had so frequently become a mother in the past4 ,but month succeeded month1 and she forever disappointed me1 and at last ,i abandoned hope4 ,in solitude and exile ,mercedes degenerated sadly2 got monstrously fat2 too indolent to gnaw1 let her teeth grow to a preposterous length2 and in the end died of a surfeit of smetana4 ,when ,i returned to ,paris1 at the age of twenty1 to faire mon droit in the ,latin ,quarter1 ,i paid a visit to our old house1 and discovered the same old concierge in the loge4 ,i asked her about the mice1 and she told me her children had found the care of them such a bother that at first they had neglected them1 and at last allowed them to escape4 ,they took to the walls1 and for a long time afterwards1 ,monsieur1 the mice of this neighbourhood were pied4 ,to this day they are of a paler hue than elsewhere4 ,,ii--,a ,broken ,looking-,glass ,he climbed the three flights of stone stairs1 and put his key into the lock2 but before he turned it1 he stopped--to rest1 to take breath4 ,on the door his name was painted in big white letters1 ,mr4 ,richard ,dane4 ,it is always silent in the ,temple at midnight2 to-night the silence was dense1 like a fog4 ,it was ,sunday night2 and on ,sunday night1 even within the hushed precincts of the ,temple1 one is conscious of a deeper hush4 ,when he had lighted the lamp in his sitting-room1 he let himself drop into an arm-chair before the empty fireplace4 ,he was tired1 he was exhausted4 ,yet nothing had happened to tire him4 ,he had dined1 as he always dined on ,sundays1 with the ,rodericks1 in ,cheyne ,walk2 he had driven home in a hansom4 ,there was no reason why he should be tired4 ,but he was tired4 ,a deadly lassitude penetrated his body and his spirit1 like a fluid4 ,he was too tired to go to bed4 ,i suppose ,i am getting old1 he thought4 ,to a second person the matter would have appeared one not of supposition but of certainty1 not of progression but of accomplishment4 ,getting old indeed8 ,but he was old4 ,it was an old man1 grey and wrinkled and wasted1 who sat there1 limp1 sunken upon himself1 in his easy-chair4 ,in years1 to be sure1 he was under sixty2 but he looked like a man of seventy-five4 ,i am getting old1 ,i suppose ,i am getting old4 ,and vaguely1 dully1 he contemplated his life1 spread out behind him like a misty landscape1 and thought what a failure it had been4 ,what had it come to8 ,what had it brought him8 ,what had he done or won8 ,nothing1 nothing4 ,it had brought him nothing but old age1 solitude1 disappointment1 and1 to-night especially1 a sense of fatigue and apathy that weighed upon him like a suffocating blanket4 ,on a table1 a yard or two away1 stood a decanter of whisky1 with some soda-water bottles and tumblers2 he looked at it with heavy eyes1 and he knew that there was what he needed4 ,a little whisky would strengthen him1 revive him1 and make it possible for him to bestir himself and undress and go to bed4 ,but when he thought of rising and moving to pour the whisky out1 he shrunk from that effort as from an ,herculean labour2 no--he was too tired4 ,then his mind went back to the friends he had left in ,chelsea half an hour ago2 it seemed an indefinably long time ago1 years and years ago2 they were like blurred phantoms1 dimly remembered from a remote past4 ,yes1 his life had been a failure2 total1 miserable1 abject4 ,it had come to nothing2 its harvest was a harvest of ashes4 ,if it had been a useful life1 he could have accepted its unhappiness2 if it had been a happy life1 he could have forgotten its uselessness2 but it had been both useless and unhappy4 ,he had done nothing for others1 he had won nothing for himself4 ,oh1 but he had tried1 he had tried4 ,when he had left ,oxford people expected great things of him2 he had expected great things of himself4 ,he was admitted to be clever1 to be gifted2 he was ambitious1 he was in earnest4 ,he wished to make a name1 he wished to justify his existence by fruitful work4 ,and he had worked hard4 ,he had put all his knowledge1 all his talent1 all his energy1 into his work2 he had not spared himself2 he had passed laborious days and studious nights4 ,and what remained to show for it8 ,three or four volumes upon ,political ,economy1 that had been read in their day a little1 discussed a little1 and then quite forgotten--superseded by the books of newer men4 ,pulped1 pulped1 he reflected bitterly4 ,except for a stray dozen of copies scattered here and there--in the ,british ,museum1 in his ,college library1 on his own bookshelves--his published writings had by this time 7he could not doubt7 met with the common fate of unsuccessful literature1 and been pulped4 ,pulped--pulped2 pulped--pulped4 ,the hateful word beat rhythmically again and again in his tired brain2 and for a little while that was all he was conscious of4 ,so much for the work of his life4 ,and for the rest8 ,the play8 ,the living8 ,oh1 he had nothing to recall but failure4 ,it had sufficed that he should desire a thing1 for him to miss it2 that he should set his heart upon a thing1 for it to be removed beyond the sphere of his possible acquisition4 ,it had been so from the beginning2 it had been so always4 ,he sat motionless as a stone1 and allowed his thoughts to drift listlessly hither and thither in the current of memory4 ,everywhere they encountered wreckage1 derelicts3 defeated aspirations1 broken hopes4 ,languidly he envisaged these4 ,he was too tired to resent1 to rebel4 ,he even found a certain sluggish satisfaction in recognising with what unvarying harshness destiny had treated him1 in resigning himself to the unmerited4 ,he caught sight of his hand1 lying flat and inert upon the brown leather arm of his chair4 ,his eyes rested on it1 and for the moment he forgot everything else in a sort of torpid study of it4 ,how white it was1 how thin1 how withered2 the nails were parched into minute corrugations2 the veins stood out like dark wires2 the skin hung loosely on it1 and had a dry lustre3 an old man's hand4 ,he gazed at it fixedly1 till his eyes closed and his head fell forward4 ,but he was not sleepy1 he was only tired and weak4 ,he raised his head with a start1 and changed his position4 ,he felt cold2 but to endure the cold was easier than to get up1 and put something on1 or go to bed4 ,how silent the world was2 how empty his room4 ,an immense feeling of solitude1 of isolation1 fell upon him4 ,he was quite cut off from the rest of humanity here4 ,if anything should happen to him1 if he should need help of any sort1 what could he do8 ,call out8 ,but who would hear8 ,at nine in the morning the porter's wife would come with his tea4 ,but if anything should happen to him in the meantime8 ,there would be nothing for it but to wait till nine o'clock4 ,ah1 if he had married1 if he had had children1 a wife1 a home of his own1 instead of these desolate bachelor chambers6 ,if he had married1 indeed6 ,it was his sorrow's crown of sorrow that he had not married1 that he had not been able to marry1 that the girl he had wished to marry wouldn't have him4 ,failure8 ,success8 ,he could have accounted failure in other things a trifle1 he could have laughed at what the world calls failure1 if ,elinor ,lynd had been his wife4 ,but that was the heart of his misfortune1 she wouldn't have him4 ,he had met her for the first time when he was a lad of twenty1 and she a girl of eighteen4 ,he could see her palpable before him now3 her slender girlish figure1 her bright eyes1 her laughing mouth1 her warm brown hair curling round her forehead4 ,oh1 how he had loved her4 ,for twelve years he had waited upon her1 wooed her1 hoped to win her4 ,but she had always said1 ,no--,i don't love you4 ,i am very fond of you2 ,i love you as a friend2 we all love you that way--my mother1 my father1 my sisters4 ,but ,i can't marry you4 ,however1 she married no one else1 she loved no one else2 and for twelve years he was an ever-welcome guest in her father's house2 and she would talk with him1 play to him1 pity him2 and he could hope4 ,then she died4 ,he called one day1 and they said she was ill4 ,after that there came a blank in his memory--a gulf1 full of blackness and redness1 anguish and confusion2 and then a sort of dreadful sudden calm1 when they told him she was dead4 ,he remembered standing in her room1 after the funeral1 with her father1 her mother1 her sister ,elizabeth4 ,he remembered the pale daylight that filled it1 and how orderly and cold and forsaken it all looked4 ,and there was her bed1 the bed she had died in2 and there her dressing-table1 with her combs and brushes2 and there her writing-desk1 her bookcase4 ,he remembered a row of medicine bottles on the mantelpiece2 he remembered the fierce anger1 the hatred of them1 as if they were animate1 that had welled up in his heart as he looked at them1 because they had failed to do their work4 ,you will wish to have something that was hers1 ,richard1 her mother said4 ,what would you like8 ,on her dressing-table there was a small looking-glass in an ivory frame4 ,he asked if he might have that1 and carried it away with him4 ,she had looked into it a thousand times1 no doubt2 she had done her hair in it2 it had reflected her1 enclosed her1 contained her4 ,he could almost persuade himself that something of her must remain in it4 ,to own it was like owning something of herself4 ,he carried it home with him1 hugging it to his side with a kind of passion4 ,he had prized it1 he prized it still1 as his dearest treasure2 the looking-glass in which her face had been reflected a thousand times2 the glass that had contained her1 known her2 in which something of herself1 he felt1 must linger4 ,to handle it1 look at it1 into it1 behind it1 was like holding a mystic communion with her2 it gave him an emotion that was infinitely sweet and bitter1 a pain that was dissolved in joy4 ,the glass lay now1 folded in its ivory case1 on the chimney-shelf in front of him4 ,that was its place2 he always kept it on his chimney-shelf2 so that he could see it whenever he glanced round his room4 ,he leaned back in his chair1 and looked at it2 for a long time his eyes remained fixed upon it4 ,if she had married me1 she wouldn't have died4 ,my love1 my care1 would have healed her4 ,she could not have died4 ,monotonously1 automatically1 the phrase repeated itself over and over again in his mind1 while his eyes remained fixed on the ivory case into which her looking-glass was folded4 ,it was an effect of his fatigue1 no doubt1 that his eyes1 once directed upon an object1 were slow to leave it for another2 that a phrase once pronounced in his thought had this tendency to repeat itself over and over again4 ,but at last he roused himself a little1 and leaning forward1 put his hand out and up1 to take the glass from the shelf4 ,he wished to hold it1 to touch it and look into it4 ,as he lifted it towards him1 it fell open1 the mirror proper being fastened to a leather back1 which was glued to the ivory1 and formed a hinge4 ,it fell open2 and his grasp had been insecure2 and the jerk as it opened was enough4 ,it slipped from his fingers1 and dropped with a crash upon the hearthstone4 ,the sound went through him like a physical pain4 ,he sank back into his chair1 and closed his eyes4 ,his heart was beating as after a mighty physical exertion4 ,he knew vaguely that a calamity had befallen him2 he could vaguely imagine the splinters of shattered glass at his feet4 ,but his physical prostration was so great as to obliterate1 to neutralise1 emotion4 ,he felt very cold4 ,he felt that he was being hurried along with terrible speed through darkness and cold air4 ,there was the continuous roar of rapid motion in his ears1 a faint1 dizzy bewilderment in his head4 ,he felt that he was trying to catch hold of things1 to stop his progress1 but his hands closed upon emptiness2 that he was trying to call out for help1 but he could make no sound4 ,on--on--on1 he was being whirled through some immeasurable abyss of space4 99 99 99 99 99 ,ah1 yes1 he's dead1 quite dead1 the doctor said4 ,he has been dead some hours4 ,he must have passed away peacefully sitting here in his chair4 ,poor gentleman1 said the porter's wife4 ,and a broken looking-glass beside him4 ,oh1 it's a sure sign1 a broken looking-glass4 ,portrait of a ,lady ,by ,will ,rothenstein ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,portrait of a ,lady ,two ,poems ,by ,edmund ,gosse ,i--,alere ,flammam ,to ,a4 ,c4 ,b4 ,in ancient ,rome1 the secret fire1-- ,an intimate and holy thing1-- ,was guarded by a tender choir ,of kindred maidens in a ring2 ,deep1 deep within the house it lay1 ,no stranger ever gazed thereon1 ,but1 flickering still by night and day1 ,the beacon of the house1 it shone2 ,thro' birth and death1 from age to age1 ,it passed1 a quenchless heritage2 ,and there were hymns of mystic tone ,sung round about the family flame1 ,beyond the threshold all unknown1 ,fast-welded to an ancient name2 ,there sacrificed the sire as priest1 ,before that altar1 none but he1 ,alone he spread the solemn feast ,for a most secret deity2 ,he knew the god had once been sire1 ,and served the same memorial fire4 ,ah6 so1 untouched by windy roar ,of public issues loud and long1 ,the ,poet holds the sacred door1 ,and guards the glowing coal of song2 ,not his to grasp at praise or blame1 ,red gold1 or crowns beneath the sun1 ,his only pride to tend the flame ,that ,homer and that ,virgil won1 ,retain the rite1 preserve the act1 ,and pass the worship on intact4 ,before the shrine at last he falls2 ,the crowd rush in1 a chattering band ,but1 ere he fades in death1 he calls ,another priest to ward the brand2 ,he1 with a gesture of disdain1 ,flings back the ringing brazen gate1 ,reproves1 repressing1 the profane1 ,and feeds the flame in primal state2 ,content to toil and fade in turn1 ,if still the sacred embers burn4 ,,ii--,a ,dream of ,november ,far1 far away1 ,i know not where1 ,i know not how1 ,the skies are grey1 the boughs are bare1 bare boughs in flower3 ,long lilac silk is softly drawn from bough to bough1 ,with flowers of milk and buds of fawn1 a broidered shower4 ,beneath that tent an ,empress sits1 with slanted eyes1 ,and wafts of scent from censers flit1 a lilac flood2 ,around her throne bloom peach and plum in lacquered dyes1 ,and many a blown chrysanthemum1 and many a bud4 ,she sits and dreams1 while bonzes twain strike some rich bell1 ,whose music seems a metal rain of radiant dye2 ,in this strange birth of various blooms1 ,i cannot tell ,which spring from earth1 which slipped from looms1 which sank from sky4 ,beneath her wings of lilac dim1 in robes of blue1 ,the ,empress sings a wordless hymn that thrills her bower2 ,my trance unweaves1 and winds1 and shreds1 and forms anew ,dark bronze1 bright leaves1 pure silken threads1 in triple flower4 ,portrait of ,mrs4 ,patrick ,campbell ,by ,aubrey ,beardsley ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,portrait of ,mrs4 ,patrick ,campbell ,the ,dedication ,by ,fred ,m4 ,simpson ,,persons ,,represented ,lucy ,rimmerton4 ,harold ,sekbourne ,scene ,i--,the period is #ahfc ,the sitting-room in ,lucy ,rimmerton's lodgings4 ,she is seated in front of the fire making some toast4 ,lucy4 ,there6 ,i think that will do1 although it isn't anything very great4 ,rises4 ,what a colour ,i must have6 ,harold says ,i always manage to toast myself very much better than ,i do the bread4 ,lights the gas1 and begins arranging some flowers on the table4 ,his favourite flowers2 ,i know he will be pleased when he sees them4 ,how strange it is that he should really care for me6--,i1 who am so commonplace and ordinary1 hardly pretty either1 although he says ,i am4 ,i always tell him he might have done so much better than propose to a poor governess without a penny4--,oh1 if only his book proves a success6--a really great success6--how glorious it will be6 ,why doesn't the wretched publisher make haste and bring it out8 ,i believe he is keeping it back on purpose4 ,what dreadful creatures they are6 ,at first--squabble1 squabble1 squabble2 squabble about terms1 squabble about this1 another squabble about that1 and then1 when everything is finally arranged1 delay1 delay1 delay4 ,you must wait for the publishing season4 ,as though a book were a young lady whose future might be seriously jeopardised if it made its dbut at an unfashionable time4 ,the door opens1 and ,harold bursts into the room4 ,harold4 ,it's out1 it's out2 out at last4 ,lucy4 ,what1 the book6 ,really6 ,where is it8 ,do show it to me4 ,harold4 ,do you think you deserve it6 ,lucy4 ,oh6 don't tantalise me4 ,have you seen it8 ,what is it like6 ,harold4 ,it is printed1 and very much like other books4 ,lucy4 ,you are horrid4 ,i believe you have it with you4 ,have you8 ,harold4 ,and what if ,i say yes8 ,lucy4 ,you have4 ,do let me see it4 ,harold4 ,and will you be very good if ,i do6 ,lucy4 ,i'll be angelic4 ,harold4 ,then on that condition only--,there6 take it gently4 ,lucy snatches it1 and cuts the string4 ,i thought you never cut string8 ,lucy4 ,there is never a never that hasn't an exception4 ,harold4 ,not a woman's1 certainly4 ,lucy4 ,oh6 how nice it looks6 ,and to think that it is yours1 really and truly yours4 ,grace3 a ,sketch4 ,by ,harold ,sekbourne4 ,it's delicious6 ,holding the book1 dances round the room4 ,harold4 ,i shall begin to be jealous4 ,you will soon be more in love with my book than you are with me4 ,lucy4 ,and why shouldn't ,i be8 ,haven't you always said that a man's work is the best part of him8 ,harold4 ,if my silly sayings are to be brought up in evidence against me like this1 ,i shall---- ,lucy4 ,you shall what8 ,harold4 ,take the book back4 ,lucy4 ,oh1 will you8 ,i should like to see you do it4 ,holds it behind her4 ,you have got to get it first4 ,harold4 ,and what are you going to give me for it8 ,lucy4 ,isn't it a presentation copy8 ,harold4 ,it is the very first to leave the printer's4 ,lucy4 ,then you ought not to want any payment4 ,harold4 ,i do though1 all the same4 ,come--no payment1 no book4 ,lucy4 ,there1 there1 there6 ,harold4 ,and there4 ,lucy4 ,oh6 don't6 ,you'll stifle me4 ,and is this for me2 may ,i really keep it8 ,harold4 ,of course you may2 ,i brought it expressly for you4 ,lucy4 ,how nice of you6 ,and you'll write my name in it8 ,harold4 ,i'll write the dedication4 ,lucy4 ,what do you mean8 ,harold4 ,you shall see4 ,pen and ink for the author6 ,a new pen and virgin ink6 ,lucy4 ,your ,authorship has but to command to be obeyed4 ,harold4 ,sitting down1 writes4 ,it is printed in all the other copies1 but this one ,i have had bound specially for you1 with a blank sheet where the dedication comes1 so that in your copy1 and yours alone1 ,i can write it myself4 ,there4 ,lucy4 ,looks over his shoulder and reads4 ,to my ,lady ,luce4 ,oh1 ,harold1 you have dedicated it to me6 ,harold4 ,who else could ,i dedicate it to8 although 'tis-- ,not so much honouring thee1 ,as giving it a hope that now ,it may immortal be4 ,lucy4 ,it is good of you4 ,harold4 ,writes again4 ,harold ,sekbourne--what's to-day8--oh1 yes1 #crd ,november1 #ahfc4 ,lucy4 ,and will people know who the ,lady ,luce is8 ,harold4 ,they will some day4 ,the dedication in my next book shall be ,to my ,lady ,wife4 ,lucy4 ,i wonder if ,i shall ever be that4 ,it seems so long coming4 ,harold4 ,i don't mind when it is--to-morrow1 if you like4 ,lucy4 ,don't talk nonsense1 although it is my fault for beginning it4 ,and now sit down--no1 here in the arm-chair--and you shall have some nice tea4 ,she makes and pours out the tea as ,harold talks4 ,harold4 ,you won't have to wait long if this proves a success3 and it will be one4 ,i know it2 ,i feel it4 ,it isn't only that everybody who has read it1 likes it2 it's something else that ,i can't describe1 not even to you2 a feeling inside1 that--call it conceit if you like1 but it isn't conceit2 it isn't conceit to feel confidence in oneself4 ,why1 look at the trash1 the arrant trash1 that succeeds every day2 you will say1 perhaps1 that it succeeds because it is trash1 that trash is what people want--they certainly get it4 ,but no book that ever had real stuff in it has failed yet1 and ,i feel that--,ha6 ha6 the same old feeling mentioned above4 ,don't think me an awful prig1 ,luce4 ,i don't talk to anybody else as ,i do to you2 and if you only knew what a relief it is to me to let myself go a bit occasionally1 you would excuse everything4 ,lucy4 ,you have a right to be conceited4 ,harold4 ,not yet4 ,i have done nothing yet2 but ,i mean to4 ,takes up the book4 ,i wonder what will become of you and your fellows2 what will be your future8 ,will you one day adorn the shelves of libraries1 figure in catalogues of ,rare books and first editions1 and be contended for by snuffy1 long-clothed bibliomaniacs1 who will bid one against the other for the honour of possessing you8 ,or will you descend to the tables of secondhand book-stalls marked at a great reduction2 or lie in a heap1 with other lumber1 outside the shop-front1 all this lot sixpence each1 awaiting there1 uncared for1 unnoticed1 and unknown1 your ultimate destination1 the dust-hole8 ,lucy4 ,you are horrid4 ,what an idea6 ,harold4 ,no1 ,i don't think that will be your end4 ,puts down the book4 ,you are not going to the dustbin1 you are going to be a success4 ,no more hack work for me after this4 ,why1 supposing only the first edition is sold1 ,i more than clear expenses1 and if it runs to two--ten--twenty editions1 ,i shall receive--the amount fairly takes my breath away4 ,twentieth thousand2 doesn't it sound fine8 ,we shall have our mansion in ,grosvenor ,square yet1 ,luce2 and that charming1 little old house we saw the other day up the river--we'll have that1 too2 so that we can run down here from ,saturday to ,monday1 to get away from ,london fog and nastiness4 ,yes1 ,i am going to be rich some day--rich--in ten years' time1 if this book gets a fair start and ,i have anything like decent luck1 ,i shall be the best known author in ,england4 ,rises4 ,the son of the old bookseller who failed will be able then to repay those who helped him when he wanted help1 and1 more delightful thought still1 pay back those with interest who did their best to keep him down1 when they could just as easily have helped him to rise4 ,i am going to have a success1 ,i feel it4 ,in a few weeks' time ,i'll bring you a batch of criticisms that will astonish you4 ,but what is the matter8 why so silent all of a sudden8 has my long and conceited tirade disgusted you8 ,lucy4 ,no1 not at all4 ,harold4 ,then what is it8 ,lucy4 ,i was only thinking that--hesitates4 ,harold4 ,thinking what8 ,about me3 ,lucy4 ,yes1 about you and--and also about myself4 ,harold4 ,that is just as it should be1 about us two together4 ,lucy4 ,yes1 but ,i was afraid---- ,harold4 ,smiling4 ,afraid6 what of8 ,lucy4 ,nothing1 nothing really4 ,i am ashamed that--let me give you some more tea4 ,harold4 ,no1 thanks4 ,come1 let me hear1 make a clean breast of it4 ,lucy4 ,i can't1 really2 you would only laugh at me4 ,harold4 ,then why deny me a pleasure1 for you know ,i love to laugh8 ,lucy4 ,well1 then--if you become famous--and rich---- ,harold4 ,if ,i do2 well8 ,lucy4 ,you won't--you won't forget me1 will you8 ,harold4 ,forget you1 what an idea6 ,why do ,i want to become famous8 why do ,i want to become rich8 ,for my own sake8 for the sake of the money8 ,neither4 ,i want it for your sake1 so that you can be rich2 so that you can have everything you can possibly want4 ,i don't mind roughing it a bit myself1 but---- ,lucy4 ,no more do ,i3 ,i am sure we might be very happy living even here4 ,harold4 ,no1 thank you2 no second pair fronts for me1 or1 rather1 none for my wife4 ,i want you to forget all about this place1 as though it had never existed2 ,i want you to only remember your giving lessons as a nightmare which has passed and gone4 ,i want you to take a position in the world1 to go into society---- ,lucy4 ,but1 ,harold---- ,harold4 ,to entertain1 receive1 lead---- ,lucy4 ,but ,i could never lead4 ,i detest receiving4 ,i hate entertaining---- ,harold4 ,except me4 ,lucy4 ,i often wonder if ,i do4 ,you are so clever and ,i---- ,harold4 ,such a goose4 ,whatever put such ideas into your head8 ,why1 you are actually crying4 ,lucy4 ,i am not4 ,harold4 ,then what is that8 ,puts his finger against her cheek4 ,what is that little sparkling drop8 ,lucy4 ,it must be a tear of joy1 then4 ,harold4 ,which shall be used to christen the book6 ,lucy4 ,oh1 don't--there1 you have left a mark4 ,harold4 ,it is your fault4 ,my finger wouldn't have done it by itself4 ,are you going to be silly any more8 ,lucy4 ,no1 ,i am not4 ,harold4 ,and you are going to love me1 believe in me1 and trust me8 ,lucy4 ,i do all three--implicitly4 ,harold4 ,he kisses her4 ,the seal of the trinity4 ,looks at his watch4 ,by jove1 ,i must be going4 ,lucy4 ,so soon8 ,harold4 ,rather2 ,i have to dine in ,berkeley ,square at eight o'clock1 at ,sir ,humphrey ,mockton's4 ,you would like their house1 it's a beauty1 a seventeenth or eighteenth century one1 with such a gorgeous old staircase4 ,he's awfully rich1 and just a little bit vulgar--wool ,i think it was1 or cottons1 or some other commodity2 but his daughter is charming--,i should say daughters1 as there are two of them1 so you needn't be jealous4 ,lucy4 ,jealous8 of course ,i am not4 ,have you known them long8 ,harold4 ,oh6 some little time4 ,they are awfully keen to see my book4 ,i am going to take--send them a copy4 ,you see ,i must be civil to these people1 they know such an awful lot of the right sort2 and their recommendation of a book will have more weight than fifty advertisements4 ,so good-bye4 ,takes his overcoat4 ,lucy4 ,let me help you4 ,but you are going without noticing my flowers4 ,harold4 ,i have been admiring them all along1 except when ,i was looking at you4 ,lucy4 ,don't be silly4 ,harold4 ,they are charming4 ,sir ,humphrey has some orchids just the same colours2 you ought to see them2 he has basketsful sent up every week from his place in ,surrey4 ,lucy4 ,no wonder my poor little chrysanthemums didn't impress you4 ,harold4 ,what nonsense6 ,i would give more for one little flower from you1 than for the contents of all his conservatories4 ,lucy4 ,then you shall have that for nothing4 ,harold4 ,don't1 it will destroy the bunch4 ,lucy4 ,what does that matter8 they are all yours4 ,harold4 ,you do your best to spoil me4 ,lucy4 ,pins the flower into his button-hole4 ,don't talk nonsense4 ,there6 ,harold4 ,what a swell you have made me look6 ,lucy4 ,good-bye2 when shall ,i see you again8 ,harold4 ,not until ,sunday1 ,i am afraid2 ,i am so busy just now4 ,but ,i'll come round early1 and1 if fine1 we'll go and lunch at ,richmond1 and have a good walk across the ,park afterwards4 ,would you like it8 ,lucy4 ,above all things1 but--but don't spend all your money on me4 ,harold4 ,bother the money6 ,i am going to be rich4 ,good-bye till ,sunday4 ,lucy4 ,au revoir2 and while you are dining in your grand house1 with lots of grand people1 ,i am going to enjoy a delightful evening here1 not alone1 as ,i shall have your book for company4 ,good-bye4 ,six ,months elapse between ,scene ,i4 and ,scene ,,ii4 ,scene ,,ii--,the ,scene and ,persons are the same ,lucy is dressed as before2 she is seated4 ,harold is in evening dress1 with a flower in his button-hole2 he stands by the fireplace4 ,harold4 ,well1 all ,i have to say is1 ,i think you are most unreasonable4 ,lucy4 ,you have no right to say that4 ,harold4 ,i have if ,i think it4 ,lucy4 ,well1 you have no right to think it4 ,harold4 ,my thoughts are not my own1 ,i suppose8 ,lucy4 ,they are so different from what ,i should have expected you to have that ,i almost doubt it4 ,harold4 ,better say ,i have changed at once4 ,lucy4 ,and so you have4 ,harold4 ,who is saying things one has no right to say now8 ,lucy4 ,i am only saying what ,i think4 ,harold4 ,then if you want to have the right to your own thoughts1 kindly let me have the right to mine4 ,walks to the window4 ,i can't prevent people sending me invitations1 can ,i8 ,lucy4 ,you need not accept them4 ,harold4 ,and make enemies right and left1 ,i suppose8 ,lucy4 ,i don't want you to do that1 and ,i don't want either to prevent your enjoying yourself2 but--but1 ,i do want to see you occasionally4 ,harold4 ,and so you do4 ,lucy4 ,yes1 very--perhaps ,i should say ,i want to see you often4 ,harold4 ,and so do ,i you1 but ,i can't be in two places at once4 ,this is what ,i mean when ,i say you are unreasonable4 ,i must go out4 ,if ,i am to write1 ,i must study people1 character1 scenes4 ,i can't do that by stopping at home3 ,i can't do that by coming here2 ,i know you and ,i know your landlady1 and there is nobody else in the house1 except the slavey and the cat2 and although the slavey may be a very excellent servant and the cat a most original quadruped1 still1 ,i don't want to make elaborate studies of animals--either four-legged or two4 ,one would imagine1 from the way you talk1 that ,i did nothing except enjoy myself4 ,i only go out in the evenings4 ,lucy4 ,still you might spare a little time1 now and then1 to come and see me1 if only for half an hour4 ,harold4 ,what am ,i doing now8 ,i gave up a dinner-party to come here to-night4 ,lucy4 ,do you know it is exactly a month yesterday since you were here last8 ,harold4 ,i can't be always dangling at your apron-strings4 ,lucy4 ,harold6 ,harold4 ,if we are going to be married1 we---- ,lucy4 ,if8 ,harold4 ,well1 when1 if you like it better2 we shall see enough of one another then4 ,i have written to you1 it isn't as though ,i hadn't done that4 ,lucy4 ,but that is not the same thing as seeing you2 and your letters1 too1 have been so scrappy4 ,harold throws himself into the arm-chair4 ,they used to be so different before your book came out4 ,harold4 ,i had more time then4 ,lucy4 ,i sometimes wish that it had never been published at all1 that you had never written it1 or1 at all events1 that it had never been such a success4 ,harold4 ,that's kind1 at all events--deuced kind and considerate6 ,lucy4 ,it seems to have come between us as a barrier4 ,when ,i think how eagerly we looked forward to its appearance1 what castles in the air we built as to how happy we were going to be1 and all the things we were going to do1 if it were a success1 and now to think that---- ,harold4 ,jumps up4 ,look here1 ,lucy1 ,i'm damned if--,i can't stand this much longer6 ,nag1 nag1 nag6 ,i can't stand it4 ,i am worked off my head during the day1 ,i am out half the night1 and when ,i come here for a little quiet1 a little rest1 its--,breaks off suddenly4 ,lucy4 ,i am so sorry4 ,if ,i had thought---- ,harold4 ,can't you see that you are driving me mad8 ,i have been here half an hour1 and the whole of the time it has been nothing but reproaches4 ,lucy4 ,i don't think they would have affected you so much if you hadn't felt that you deserved them6 ,harold4 ,there you go again6 ,i deserve them--laughs harshly4 ,it is my fault1 ,i suppose1 that it is the season2 it is my fault that people give dinner-parties and balls2 it is my fault1 ,i suppose1 that you don't go out as much as ,i do8 ,lucy4 ,certainly not2 although1 as a matter of fact1 ,i haven't been out one single evening for the last three--nearly four--months4 ,harold4 ,that's right2 draw comparisons2 say ,i'm a selfish brute4 ,you'll tell me next that ,i am tired of you1 and---- ,lucy4 ,harold6 don't1 don't--you--you hurt me6 ,of course ,i never thought of such a--she rises--,you are not1 are you8 ,i--,i couldn't bear it6 ,harold4 ,of course ,i am not4 ,don't be so silly4 ,he sits4 ,lucy4 ,it was silly of me1 ,i confess it4 ,i know you better than that4 ,why1 it's rank high treason1 ,i deserve to lose my head2 and my only excuse is that thinking such a thing proves ,i must have lost it already4 ,will your majesty deign to pardon8 ,harold4 ,testily4 ,yes1 yes1 that's all right6 ,there1 look out1 you'll crumple my tie4 ,lucy4 ,i am so sorry6 ,and now tell me all about your grand friends and---- ,harold4 ,they are not grand to me4 ,simply because a person is rich or has a title1 ,i don't consider them any grander than ,i--by jove1 no6 ,these people are useful to me1 or else ,i shouldn't stand it4 ,they patronise me1 put their hand on my shoulder and say1 ,my dear young friend1 we predict great things for you4 ,the fools1 as though a single one of them was capable even of forming an opinion1 much less of prophesying4 ,they make remarks about me before my face2 they talk of1 and pet1 me as though ,i were a poodle4 ,i go through my tricks and they applaud2 and they lean over with an idiotic simper to the dear friend next to them and say1 ,isn't he clever8 as though they had taught me themselves4 ,bah6 ,they invite me to their houses1 ,i dine with them once a week2 but if ,i were to tell them to-morrow that ,i wanted to marry one of their daughters1 they would kick me out of the room1 and consider it a greater insult than if the proposal had come from their own footman4 ,lucy4 ,but that doesn't matter1 because you don't want to marry one of them1 do you8 ,was that ,miss ,mockton with you in the ,park last ,sunday8 ,harold4 ,how do you know ,i was in the ,park at all8 ,lucy4 ,because ,i saw you there4 ,harold4 ,you were spying1 ,i suppose4 ,lucy4 ,spying8 ,i don't know what you mean4 ,i went there for a walk after church4 ,harold4 ,alone8 ,lucy4 ,of course not1 ,i was with ,mrs4 ,glover4 ,harold4 ,your landlady8 ,lucy4 ,why not8--,oh6 you need not be afraid4 ,i shouldn't have brought disgrace upon you by obliging you to acknowledge me before your grand friends4 ,i took good care to keep in the background4 ,harold4 ,do you mean to insinuate that ,i am a snob8 ,lucy4 ,be a little kind4 ,harold4 ,well1 it is your own fault1 you insinuate that---- ,lucy4 ,i was wrong4 ,i apologise1 but--but--begins to cry4 ,harold4 ,there1 don't make a scene--don't1 there's a good girl4 ,there1 rest your head here4 ,i suppose ,i am nasty4 ,i didn't mean it1 really4 ,you must make allowances for me4 ,i am worried and bothered4 ,i can't work--at least ,i can't do work that satisfies me--and altogether ,i am not quite myself4 ,late hours are playing the very deuce with my nerves4 ,there1 let me kiss away the tears--now give me your promise that you will never be so foolish again4 ,lucy4 ,i--,i promise4 ,it is silly of me--now ,i am all right4 ,harold4 ,giboules d',avril6 ,the sun comes out once more1 the shower is quite over4 ,lucy4 ,yes1 quite over2 you always are so kind4 ,it is my fault entirely4 ,i--,i think my nerves must be a little upset1 too4 ,harold4 ,we shall make a nice couple1 shan't we8 if we are often going to behave like this6 ,now1 are you quite calm8 ,lucy4 ,yes1 quite4 ,harold4 ,that's right1 because ,i want you to listen patiently for a few minutes to what ,i am going to say2 it is something ,i want to talk to you about very seriously4 ,you won't interrupt me until ,i have quite finished1 will you8 ,lucy4 ,what is it8 not that--no1 ,i won't4 ,harold4 ,you know we talked about--,i mean it was arranged we should be married the beginning of ,july--wasn't it8 ,lucy4 ,yes4 ,harold4 ,well1 ,i want to know if you would mind very much putting it off a little--quite a little--only till the autumn8 ,i'll tell you why4 ,of course if you do mind very much1 ,i sha'n't press it1 but--it's like this3 the scene of my new book is1 as you know1 laid abroad4 ,i have been trying to write it1 but can't get on with it one little bit4 ,i want some local colour4 ,i thought ,i should be able to invent it1 ,i find ,i can't4 ,it is hampering and keeping me back terribly4 ,and so--and so ,i thought if you didn't mind very much that--that if ,i were to go to ,france for--for six months or so--alone1 that--in fact it would be the making of me4 ,i have never had an opportunity before2 it has always been grind1 grind1 grind1 and if ,i am prevented from going now1 ,i may never have a chance again4 ,what do you say8 ,lucy4 ,but why shouldn't we be married as arranged1 and spend our honeymoon over there8 ,harold4 ,because ,i want to work4 ,lucy4 ,and would my being there prevent you8 ,you used to say you always worked so much better when ,i was---- ,harold4 ,but you don't understand4 ,this is different4 ,i want to work hard1 and no man could do that on his honeymoon--at least ,i know ,i couldn't4 ,lucy4 ,no1 but--,and--and till when did you want to put off our--our marriage8 ,until your return8 ,harold4 ,well1 that would depend on circumstances4 ,you don't suppose ,i would postpone it for a second1 if ,i could help it2 but--,until my return8 ,i hope sincerely that it can be managed then1 but1 you see1 over there ,i shall be spending money all the time1 and not earning a sou1 and--and so we might have to wait a little bit longer1 just until ,i could replenish the locker1 until ,i had published and been paid for my new book4 ,lucy4 ,but ,i have given notice to leave at midsummer4 ,harold4 ,has ,mrs4 ,duncan got another governess6 ,lucy4 ,no1 but---- ,harold4 ,then you can stop on1 can't you6 ,they will surely be only too delighted to keep you4 ,lucy4 ,yes--,i can stop on4 ,he tries to kiss her4 ,no1 don't2 not now4 ,harold4 ,and you don't really mind the postponement very much1 do you8 ,lucy4 ,not if it will assist you4 ,harold4 ,i thought you would say that1 ,i knew you would4 ,it will assist me very much4 ,i shouldn't otherwise suggest it4 ,it does seem too bad though1 doesn't it8 ,to have to postpone it after waiting all these years1 and just as it was so near1 too4 ,i have a good mind not to go1 after all--only1 if ,i let this chance slip1 ,i may never have another4 ,besides1 six months is not so very long1 is it8 ,and when they are over1 then we won't wait any longer4 ,you will come and see me off1 won't you8 ,it would never do for an engaged man to go away for even six months1 without his lady love coming to see him start4 ,lucy4 ,yes1 ,i will come4 ,when do you go8 ,harold4 ,the end of next week1 ,i expect2 perhaps earlier if ,i can manage it4 ,but ,i shall see you before then4 ,we'll go and have dinner together at our favourite little restaurant4 ,when shall it be6 ,let me see1 ,i am engaged on--,i can't quite remember what my engagements are4 ,lucy4 ,i have none4 ,harold4 ,then that's settled4 ,good-bye1 ,luce2 you don't mind very much1 do you8 ,the time will soon pass4 ,you are a little brick to behave as you have done4 ,going4 ,it will be ,monday or ,tuesday next for our dinner1 but ,i will let you know4 ,good-bye4 ,lucy4 ,good-bye4 ,thirty ,years elapse between ,scene ,,ii4 and ,scene ,,iii4 ,scene ,,iii--,lucy ,rimmerton1 ,agnes ,rimmerton 7her niece7 ,a well-furnished comfortable room in ,lucy ,rimmerton's house4 ,she is seated in front of the fire1 in an easy-chair1 reading4 ,the door opens1 without her noticing it1 and ,agnes comes in1 closes the door gently1 crosses the room1 and bends over her4 ,agnes4 ,a happy ,new ,year to you1 ,aunt ,luce4 ,lucy4 ,what6 ,agnes1 is that you8 ,i never heard you come in4 ,i really think ,i must be getting deaf4 ,agnes4 ,what nonsense6 ,i didn't intend you should hear me4 ,i wanted to wish you a happy ,new ,year first4 ,lucy4 ,so as to make your ,aunt play second fiddle4 ,the same to you1 dear4 ,agnes4 ,thank you4 ,warms her hands at the fire4 ,oh1 it is cold2 not here ,i mean1 but out of doors2 the thermometer is down ,i don't know how many degrees below freezing4 ,lucy4 ,it seems to agree with you1 at all events4 ,you look as bright and rosy as though you were the ,new ,year itself come to visit me4 ,agnes4 ,laughs merrily4 ,so ,i ought to4 ,i ran nearly all the way1 except when ,i slid1 to the great horror of an old gentleman who was busily engaged lecturing some little boys on the enormity of their sins in making a beautifully long slide in the middle of the pavement4 ,lucy4 ,and what brought you out so early8 ,agnes4 ,to see you1 of course4 ,besides1 the morning is so lovely it seemed a sin to remain indoors4 ,i do hope the frost continues all the holidays4 ,lucy4 ,it is all very well for you1 but it must be terribly trying for many people--the poor1 for instance4 ,agnes4 ,yes4 ,a pause4 ,auntie1 you don't know anything1 do you1 about how--how poor people live8 ,lucy4 ,not so much as ,i ought to4 ,agnes4 ,i didn't mean very poor people1 not working people4 ,i meant a person poor like--like ,i am poor4 ,lucy4 ,smiling4 ,don't you know how you live yourself8 ,agnes4 ,of course ,i do1 but--,i was thinking of--of a friend of mine1 a governess like myself1 who has just got engaged2 and ,i--,i was wondering on how much1 or1 rather1 how little1 they could live4 ,but you don't know of course4 ,you are rich1 and---- ,lucy4 ,but ,i wasn't always rich4 ,thirty years ago when ,i was your age---- ,agnes4 ,when you were my age6 ,i like that6 why you are not fifty4 ,lucy4 ,little flatterer4 ,fifty-two last birthday4 ,agnes4 ,fifty-two6 ,well1 you don't look it1 at all events4 ,lucy4 ,gross flatterer4 ,when ,i was your age ,i was poor and a governess as you are4 ,agnes4 ,but ,i thought that your ,aunt ,emily left you all her money4 ,lucy4 ,so she did1 or nearly all2 but that was afterwards4 ,it isn't quite thirty years yet since she came back from ,india1 a widow1 just after she had lost her husband and only child4 ,i was very ill at the time--,i almost died2 and she1 good woman as she was1 came and nursed me4 ,agnes4 ,of course1 ,i know4 ,i have heard father talk about it4 ,and then she was taken ill1 wasn't she8 ,lucy4 ,yes1 almost before ,i was well4 ,it was very unfair that she should leave everything to me2 your father was her nephew1 just as ,i was her niece1 but he wouldn't hear of my sharing it with---- ,agnes4 ,i should think not indeed6 ,i should be very sorry to think that my father would ever allow such a thing4 ,although1 at the same time1 it is all very well for you to imagine that you don't share it1 but you do4 ,who pays for ,lillie's and ,may's and ,george's schooling8 ,who sent ,alfred to ,cambridge1 and ,frank to---- ,lucy4 ,don't1 please4 ,what a huge family you are1 to be sure4 ,agnes4 ,and last1 but not least1 who gave me a chance of going to ,girton8 ,oh1 we are not supposed to know anything about it1 ,i know1 but you see we do4 ,you thought you had arranged it all so beautifully1 and kept everyone of us entirely in the dark1 but you haven't one little bit4 ,lucy4 ,nonsense1 ,agnes1 you---- ,agnes4 ,oh1 you are a huge big fraud1 you know you are2 ,i am quite ashamed of you4 ,lucy is going to speak4 ,you are not to be thanked1 ,i know2 and you needn't be afraid1 ,i am not going to do so2 but if you could only hear us when we are talking quietly together1 you would find that a certain person1 who shall be nameless1 is simply worship---- ,lucy4 ,hush6 you silly little girl4 ,you don't know what you are saying4 ,you have nothing to thank me for whatsoever4 ,agnes4 ,haven't we just8 ,i know better4 ,lucy4 ,young people always do4 ,so you see ,i do know something of how the poor live4 ,agnes4 ,yes1 but you were never married4 ,lucy4 ,no1 dear4 ,agnes4 ,that is what ,i want to----,why weren't you married8 ,oh1 ,i know ,i have no business to ask such a question3 it is fearfully rude ,i know1 but ,i have wondered so often4 ,you are lovely now1 and you must have been beautiful when you were a girl4 ,lucy4 ,no1 ,i wasn't--,i was barely pretty4 ,agnes4 ,i can't believe that4 ,lucy4 ,and ,i am not going to accept your description of me now as a true one2 although ,i confess ,i am vain enough--even in my present old age--to look in the glass occasionally1 and say to myself3 ,you are better-looking now than you ever were4 ,agnes4 ,well1 at all events you were always an angel4 ,lucy4 ,and men don't like angels2 besides--,i was poor4 ,agnes4 ,you were not poor when you got ,aunt ,emily's money4 ,lucy4 ,no1 but then it was too----,i mean ,i then had no wish to marry4 ,agnes4 ,you mean you determined to sacrifice yourself for us1 that is what you mean4 ,lucy4 ,i must have possessed a very prophetic soul then1 or been gifted with second sight1 as none of you1 except ,reginald1 were born4 ,but to come back to your friend1 ,agnes2 has she no money8 ,agnes4 ,no1 none4 ,lucy4 ,nor he8 ,agnes4 ,not a penny4 ,lucy4 ,and they want to get married8 ,agnes4 ,yes4 ,lucy4 ,and are afraid they haven't enough4 ,agnes4 ,they certainly haven't4 ,lucy4 ,then why don't they apply to some friend or relative who has more than enough2 say1 to--an aunt1 for instance4 ,agnes4 ,auntie6 ,lucy4 ,and what is his name8 ,agnes4 ,geo----,mr4 ,reddell4 ,lucy4 ,and hers is8 ,agnes4 ,oh1 ,i never intended to tell you4 ,i didn't mean to say a word4 ,lucy4 ,when did it happen8 ,agnes4 ,three days ago4 ,that is to say1 he proposed to me then1 but of course it has been going on for a long time4 ,i could see that he--at least ,i thought ,i could see4 ,but ,i can hardly realise it yet4 ,it seems all so strange4 ,and ,i did intend telling you1 ,i felt ,i must tell somebody1 although ,george doesn't want it known yet1 because1 as ,i told you1 he--and so ,i haven't said a word to father yet2 but ,i must soon--and you won't say anything1 will you8 and--and oh1 ,i am silly4 ,lucy4 ,there1 have your cry out1 it will do you good4 ,now tell me about ,mr4 ,reddell4 ,what is he8 ,agnes4 ,he is a writer--an author4 ,don't you remember ,i showed you a story of his a little time ago8 ,lucy4 ,i thought ,i knew the name4 ,agnes4 ,and you said you liked it2 ,i was so pleased4 ,lucy4 ,yes1 ,i did4 ,i thought it clever and---- ,agnes4 ,he is clever2 and ,i do so want you to know him4 ,he wants to know you1 too4 ,you will try to like him1 won't you1 for my sake8 ,lucy4 ,i have no doubt ,i shall4 ,agnes4 ,he is just bringing out a book4 ,some of the stories have been published before2 the one you read was one1 and if that proves a success then it will be all right2 we shall be able to get married and---- ,lucy4 ,wait a minute1 ,agnes4 ,how long have you known him8 ,agnes4 ,over a year--nearly two years4 ,lucy4 ,and do you really know him well8 ,are you quite certain you can trust him8 ,agnes4 ,what a question6 ,how can you doubt it8 ,you wouldn't for a minute if you knew him4 ,lucy4 ,i ought not to1 knowing you1 you mean4 ,and supposing this book is a success4 ,may it not spoil him--make him conceited8 ,agnes4 ,all the better if it does4 ,he is not conceited enough1 and so ,i always tell him4 ,lucy4 ,but may it not make him worldly8 ,may he not1 after a time1 regret his proposal to you if he sees a chance of making a more advantageous---- ,agnes4 ,impossible4 ,what a dreadful opinion you must have of mankind4 ,you don't think it really1 ,i know4 ,i have never heard you say or hint anything nasty about anybody before4 ,lucy4 ,i only do it for your own good1 my dear4 ,i once knew a man--just such another as you describe ,mr4 ,reddell to be4 ,he was an author1 too1 and--and when ,i knew him his first book was also just about to appear4 ,he was engaged to be married to--to quite a nice girl too1 although she was never so pretty as you are4 ,agnes4 ,who is the flatterer now8 ,lucy4 ,the book was published4 ,it was a great success4 ,he became quite the lion of the season--it is many years ago now4 ,the wedding-day was definitely fixed4 ,two months before the date he suggested a postponement--for six months4 ,agnes4 ,how horrible6 ,lucy4 ,and just about the time originally fixed upon for the wedding she received a letter from him--he was abroad at the time--suggesting that their engagement had better be broken off4 ,agnes4 ,oh1 the brute6 the big brute6 ,but she didn't consent1 did she8 ,lucy4 ,of course4 ,the man she had loved was dead4 ,the new person she was indifferent to4 ,agnes4 ,but how--but you don't suggest that ,mr4 ,reddell could behave like that8 he couldn't4 ,he wouldn't1 ,i feel certain4 ,but there must surely have been something else2 ,i can't believe that any man would behave so utterly unfeelingly--so brutally4 ,they say there are always two sides to every story4 ,mayn't there have been some reason that you knew nothing about8 ,mayn't she have done something8 ,she must have been a little bit to blame1 too1 and this side of the story you never heard4 ,lucy4 ,yes--it is possible4 ,agnes4 ,i can't think that any man would deliberately behave so like a cad as you say he did4 ,lucy4 ,it may have been her fault4 ,i used to think it might be--just a little1 as you say4 ,agnes4 ,well1 it sha'n't be mine at all events4 ,i won't give any cause--besides even if ,i did----,oh1 no1 it is utterly impossible to imagine such a thing6 ,lucy4 ,i hope it is1 for your sake4 ,agnes4 ,of course it is2 of that ,i am quite certain4 ,and you don't think it is very wrong of me to--to---- ,lucy4 ,to say ,yes to a man you love4 ,no1 my dear1 that can never be wrong1 although it may be foolish4 ,agnes4 ,from a worldly point of view1 perhaps2 but ,i should never have thought that you---- ,lucy4 ,i didn't mean that4 ,but love seems to grow so quickly when you once allow it to do so1 that it is sometimes wiser to----but never mind1 bring him to see me1 and--and may you be happy4 ,a long pause4 ,agnes4 ,you are crying now1 ,auntie6 ,you have nothing---- ,lucy4 ,haven't ,i8 ,what1 not at the chance of losing you8 ,so this is what brought you out so early this morning and occasioned your bright1 rosy cheeks8 ,you didn't only come to see me4 ,agnes4 ,to see you and talk to you1 yes1 that was all4 ,no1 by-the-by1 it wasn't all4 ,have you seen a paper this morning8 ,no8 ,i thought it would interest you so ,i brought it round4 ,it is bad news1 not good news2 your favourite author is dead4 ,lucy4 ,i am afraid my favourite authors have been dead very many years4 ,agnes4 ,i should say the author of your favourite book4 ,lucy4 ,you mean---- ,agnes4 ,sir ,harold ,sekbourne4 ,lucy leans back in her chair4 ,he died last night4 ,here it is2 here is the paragraph4 ,reads4 ,we regret to announce the death of ,sir ,harold ,sekbourne1 the well-known novelist1 which occurred at his town house1 in ,prince's ,gate1 late last evening4 ,shall ,i read it to you8 ,lucy4 ,no--no1 give me the paper4 ,and--and1 ,agnes1 do you mind going down to ,franklin's room1 and telling her that receipt you promised her8 ,agnes4 ,for the ,japanese custard8 ,of course ,i will2 ,i quite forgot all about it4 ,there it is4 ,gives her the paper1 indicating the paragraph with her finger1 then goes out4 ,lucy4 ,sits staring at the paper for a few seconds1 then reads slowly4 ,sir ,harold had been slightly indisposed for some weeks1 but no anxiety was felt until two days ago1 when a change for the worse set in1 and despite all the care1 attention1 and skill of ,drs4 ,thornton and ,douglas1 who hardly left his bedside1 he never rallied1 and passed peacefully away1 at the early age of fifty-eight1 at the time above mentioned4 ,it is now thirty years ago since the deceased baronet published his first book1 ',grace3 a ,sketch1' which had such an immediate and great success4 ,this was followed nearly a year afterwards by ',alain ,treven1' the scene of which is laid in ,brittany2 and from that time until his death his pen was never idle4 ,his last work1 ',the ,incoming ,tide1' has just been published in book form1 it having appeared in the pages of ,the ,illustrated ,courier during the last year4 ,despite the rare power of his later works1 disclosing thoroughly1 as they do1 his scholarly knowledge1 his masterly construction1 vivid imagination1 and his keen insight into character and details of every-day life1 they none of them can1 for exquisite freshness and rare delicacy of execution1 compare with his first publication1 ',grace3 a ,sketch4' ,we have before us1 as we write1 a first edition of this delightful story1 with its curiously sentimental dedication ',to my ,lady ,luce1' which in the subsequent editions was omitted4 ,a baronetcy was conferred on ,sir ,harold by her ,majesty two years ago1 at the personal instigation1 it is said1 of the ,prime ,minister1 who is one of his greatest admirers1 but the title is now extinct1 as ,sir ,harold leaves no son4 ,he married in ,june1 #ahff1 a daughter of the late ,sir ,humphrey ,mockton1 who survives him4 ,his two daughters are both married--one to ,lord ,duncan1 eldest son of the ,earl of ,andstar2 the other to ,sir ,reginald de ,laver4 ,his loss will be greatly felt1 not only in the literary world1 but wherever the ,english tongue is spoken and read4 ,lucy goes to the bookcase1 takes out a book1 and opens it4 ,agnes comes in4 ,agnes4 ,franklin is silly4 ,i had to repeat the directions three times1 and even now ,i doubt if she understands them properly4 ,comes behind ,lucy and looks over her shoulder4 ,why1 ,i never knew you had a first edition4 ,lucy starts and closes the book1 then opens it again4 ,may ,i look at it8 ,but this is written2 the ink is quite faded4 ,to my ,lady ,luce4 ,harold ,sekbourne1 #crd ,november1 #ahfc4 ,what a strong handwriting it is6 ,luce6 how strange that the name should be the same as---- ,looks suddenly at ,lucy4 ,oh1 ,auntie1 forgive me4 ,i never dreamt----,i am so sorry4 ,the ,head of ,minos ,by ,j4 ,t4 ,nettleship ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,the ,head of ,minos ,a ,lost ,masterpiece ,a ,city ,mood1 ,aug4 '#ic ,by ,george ,egerton ,i regret it1 but what am ,i to do8 ,it was not my fault--,i can only regret it4 ,it was thus it happened to me4 ,i had come to town straight from a hillside cottage in a lonely ploughland1 with the smell of the turf in my nostrils1 and the swish of the scythes in my ears2 the scythes that flashed in the meadows where the upland hay1 drought-parched1 stretched thirstily up to the clouds that mustered upon the mountain-tops1 and marched mockingly away1 and held no rain4 ,the desire to mix with the crowd1 to lay my ear once more to the heart of the world and listen to its life-throbs1 had grown too strong for me2 and so ,i had come back--but the sights and sounds of my late life clung to me--it is singular how the most opposite things often fill one with associative memory4 ,that gamin of the bird-tribe1 the ,cockney sparrow1 recalled the swallows that built in the tumble-down shed2 and ,i could almost see the gleam of their white bellies1 as they circled in ever narrowing sweeps and clove the air with forked wings1 uttering a shrill note1 with a querulous grace-note in front of it4 ,the freshness of the country still lurked in me1 unconsciously influencing my attitude towards the city4 ,one forenoon business drove me citywards1 and following an inclination that always impels me to water-ways rather than roadways1 ,i elected to go by river steamer4 ,i left home in a glad mood1 disposed to view the whole world with kindly eyes4 ,i was filled with a happy-go-lucky insouciance that made walking the pavements a loafing in ,elysian fields4 ,the coarser touches of street-life1 the oddities of accent1 the idiosyncrasies of that most eccentric of city-dwellers1 the ,londoner1 did not jar as at other times--rather added a zest to enjoyment2 impressions crowded in too quickly to admit of analysis1 ,i was simply an interested spectator of a varied panorama4 ,i was conscious1 too1 of a peculiar dual action of brain and senses1 for1 though keenly alive to every unimportant detail of the life about me1 ,i was yet able to follow a process by which delicate inner threads were being spun into a fanciful web that had nothing to do with my outer self4 ,at ,chelsea ,i boarded a river steamer bound for ,london ,bridge4 ,the river was wrapped in a delicate grey haze with a golden subtone1 like a beautiful bright thought struggling for utterance through a mist of obscure words4 ,it glowed through the turbid waters under the arches1 so that ,i feared to see a face or a hand wave through its dull amber--for ,i always think of drowned creatures washing wearily in its murky depths--it lit up the great warehouses1 and warmed the brickwork of the monster chimneys in the background4 ,no detail escaped my outer eyes--not the hideous green of the velveteen in the sleeves of the woman on my left1 nor the supercilious giggle of the young ladies on my right1 who made audible remarks about my personal appearance4 ,but what cared ,i8 ,was ,i not happy1 absurdly happy8--because all the while my inner eyes saw undercurrents of beauty and pathos1 quaint contrasts1 whimsical details that tickled my sense of humour deliciously4 ,the elf that lurks in some inner cell was very busy1 now throwing out tender mimosa-like threads of creative fancy1 now recording fleeting impressions with delicate sure brushwork for future use2 touching a hundred vagrant things with the magic of imagination1 making a running comment on the scenes we passed4 ,the warehouses told a tale of an up-to-date ,soll und ,haben1 one of my very own1 one that would thrust old ,freytag out of the book-mart4 ,the tall chimneys ceased to be giraffic throats belching soot and smoke over the blackening city4 ,they were obelisks rearing granite heads heavenwards6 ,joints in the bricks1 weather-stains8 ,you are mistaken2 they were hieroglyphics1 setting down for posterity a tragic epic of man the conqueror1 and fire his slave2 and how they strangled beauty in the grip of gain4 ,a theme for a ,whitman6 ,and so it talks and ,i listen with my inner ear--and yet nothing outward escapes me--the slackening of the boat--the stepping on and off of folk--the lowering of the funnel--the name ,stanley on the little tug1 with its self-sufficient puff-puff1 fussing by with a line of grimy barges in tow2 freight-laden1 for the water washes over them--and on the last a woman sits suckling her baby1 and a terrier with badly cropped ears yaps at us as we pass4444 ,and as this ,english river scene flashes by1 lines of association form angles in my brain2 and the point of each is a dot of light that expands into a background for forgotten canal scenes1 with green-grey water1 and leaning balconies1 and strange crafts--,canaletti and ,guardi seen long ago in picture galleries4444 ,a delicate featured youth with gold-laced cap1 scrapes a prelude on a thin-toned violin1 and his companion thrums an accompaniment on a harp4 ,i don't know what they play1 some tuneful thing with an undernote of sadness and sentiment running through its commonplace--likely a music-hall ditty2 for a lad with a cheap silk hat1 and the hateful expression of knowingness that makes him a type of his kind1 grins appreciatively and hums the words4 ,i turn from him to the harp4 ,it is the wreck of a handsome instrument1 its gold is tarnished1 its white is smirched1 its stucco rose-wreaths sadly battered4 ,it has the air of an antique beauty in dirty ball finery2 and is it fancy1 or does not a shamed wail lurk in the tone of its strings8 ,the whimsical idea occurs to me that it has once belonged to a lady with drooping ringlets and an embroidered spencer2 and that she touched its chords to the words of a song by ,thomas ,haynes ,baily1 and that ,miss ,la ,creevy transferred them both to ivory4 ,the youth played mechanically1 without a trace of emotion2 whilst the harpist1 whose nose is a study in purples and whose bloodshot eyes have the glassy brightness of drink1 felt every touch of beauty in the poor little tune1 and drew it tenderly forth4 ,they added the musical note to my joyous mood2 the poetry of the city dovetailed harmoniously with country scenes too recent to be treated as memories--and ,i stepped off the boat with the melody vibrating through the city sounds4 ,i swung from place to place in happy1 lightsome mood1 glad as a fairy prince in quest of adventures4 ,the air of the city was exhilarating ether--and all mankind my brethren--in fact ,i felt effusively affectionate4 ,i smiled at a pretty anaemic city girl1 and only remembered that she was a stranger when she flashed back an indignant look of affected affront4 ,but what cared ,i8 ,not a jot6 ,i could afford to say pityingly3 ,go thy way1 little city maid1 get thee to thy typing4 ,and all the while that these outward insignificant things occupied me1 ,i knew that a precious little pearl of a thought was evolving slowly out of the inner chaos4 ,it was such an unique little gem1 with the lustre of a tear1 and the light of moonlight and streamlight and love smiles reflected in its pure sheen--and1 best of all1 it was all my own--a priceless possession1 not to be bartered for the ,jagersfontein diamond--a city childling with the prepotency of the country working in it--and ,i revelled in its fresh charm and dainty strength2 it seemed original1 it was so frankly natural4 ,and as ,i dodged through the great waggons laden with wares from outer continents1 ,i listened and watched it forming inside1 until my soul became filled with the light of its brightness2 and a wild elation possessed me at the thought of this darling brain-child1 this offspring of my fancy1 this rare little creation1 perhaps embryo of genius that was my very own4 ,i smiled benevolently at the passers-by1 with their harassed business faces1 and shiny black bags bulging with the weight of common every-day documents1 as ,i thought of the treat ,i would give them later on2 the delicate feast ,i held in store for them1 when ,i would transfer this dainty elusive birthling of my brain to paper for their benefit4 ,it would make them dream of moonlit lanes and sweethearting2 reveal to them the golden threads in the sober city woof2 creep in close and whisper good cheer1 and smooth out tired creases in heart and brain2 a draught from the fountain of ,jouvence could work no greater miracle than the tale ,i had to unfold4 ,aye1 they might pass me by now1 not even give me the inside of the pavement1 ,i would not blame them for it6--but later on1 later on1 they would flock to thank me4 ,they just didn't realise1 poor money-grubbers6 ,how could they8 ,but later on4444 ,i grew perfectly radiant at the thought of what ,i would do for poor humanity1 and absurdly self-satisfied as the conviction grew upon me that this would prove a work of genius--no mere glimmer of the spiritual afflatus--but a solid chunk of genius4 ,meanwhile ,i took a 'bus and paid my penny4 ,i leant back and chuckled to myself as each fresh thought-atom added to the precious quality of my pearl4 ,pearl8 ,not one any longer--a whole quarrelet of pearls1 ,oriental pearls of the greatest price6 ,ah1 how happy ,i was as ,i fondled my conceit6 ,it was near ,chancery ,lane that a foreign element cropped up and disturbed the rich flow of my fancy4 ,i happened to glance at the side-walk4 ,a woman1 a little woman1 was hurrying along in a most remarkable way4 ,it annoyed me1 for ,i could not help wondering why she was in such a desperate hurry4 ,bother the jade6 what business had she to thrust herself on my observation like that1 and tangle the threads of a web of genius1 undoubted genius8 ,i closed my eyes to avoid seeing her2 ,i could see her through the lids4 ,she had square shoulders and a high bust1 and a white gauze tie1 like a snowy feather in the breast of a pouter pigeon4 ,we stop--,i look again--aye1 there she is6 ,her black eyes stare boldly through her kohol-tinted lids1 her face has a violet tint4 ,she grips her gloves in one hand1 her white-handled umbrella in the other1 handle up1 like a knobkerrie4 ,she has great feet1 too1 in pointed shoes1 and the heels are under her insteps2 and as we outdistance her ,i fancy ,i can hear their decisive tap-tap above the thousand sounds of the street4 ,i breathe a sigh of relief as ,i return to my pearl--my pearl that is to bring me kudos and make countless thousands rejoice4 ,it is dimmed a little1 ,i must nurse it tenderly4 ,jerk1 jerk1 jangle--stop4--,bother the bell6 ,we pull up to drop some passengers1 the idiots6 and1 as ,i live1 she overtakes us6 ,how the men and women cede her the middle of the pavement6 ,how her figure dominates it1 and her great feet emphasise her ridiculous haste6 ,why should she disturb me8 ,my nerves are quivering pitifully2 the sweet inner light is waning1 ,i am in mortal dread of losing my little masterpiece4 ,thank heaven1 we are off again4444 ,charing ,cross1 ,army and ,navy1 ,v'toria6--,stop6 ,of course1 naturally6 ,here she comes1 elbows out1 umbrella waving6 ,how the steel in her bonnet glistens6 ,she recalls something1 what is it8--what is it8 ,a-ah6 ,i have it6--a strident voice1 on the deck of a steamer in the glorious bay of ,rio1 singing3 ,je suis le vr-r-rai pompier1 ,le seul pompier4444 and la mila snaps her fingers gaily and trills her r's2 and the ,corcovado is outlined clearly on the purple background as if bending to listen2 and the palms and the mosque-like buildings1 and the fair islets bathed in the witchery of moonlight1 and the star-gems twinned in the lap of the bay1 intoxicate as a dream of the ,east4 ,je suis le vr-r-rai pompier1 ,le seul pompier4444 ,what in the world is a pompier8 ,what connection has the word with this creature who is murdering1 deliberately murdering1 a delicate creation of my brain1 begotten by the fusion of country and town8 ,je suis le vr-r-rai pompier1444 ,i am convinced pompier expresses her in some subtle way--absurd word6 ,i look back at her1 ,i criticise her1 ,i anathematise her1 ,i hate her6 ,what is she hurrying for8 ,we can't escape her--always we stop and let her overtake us with her elbowing gait1 and tight skirt shortened to show her great splay feet--ugh6 ,my brain is void1 all is dark within2 the flowers are faded1 the music stilled2 the lovely illusive little being has flown1 and yet she pounds along untiringly4 ,is she a feminine presentment of the wandering ,jew1 a living embodiment of the ghoul-like spirit that haunts the city and murders fancy8 ,what business had she1 ,i ask1 to come and thrust her white-handled umbrella into the delicate network of my nerves and untune their harmony8 ,does she realise what she has done8 ,she has trampled a rare little mind-being unto death1 destroyed a precious literary gem4 ,aye1 one that1 for aught ,i know1 might have worked a revolution in modern thought2 added a new human document to the archives of man2 been the keystone to psychic investigations2 solved problems that lurk in the depths of our natures and tantalise us with elusive gleams of truth2 heralded in1 perchance1 the new era2 when such simple problems as ,home ,rule1 ,bimetallism1 or the ,woman ,question will be mere themes for schoolboard compositions--who can tell8 ,well1 it was not my fault4--,no one regrets it more1 no one--but what could ,i do8 ,blame her1 woman of the great feet and dominating gait1 and waving umbrella-handle6--blame her6 ,i can only regret it--regret it6 ,portrait of a ,lady ,by ,charles ,w4 ,furse ,reproduced by the ,swan ,electric ,engraving ,company ,illustration3 ,portrait of a ,lady ,reticence in ,literature ,by ,arthur ,waugh ,he never spoke out4 ,upon these four words1 gathered by chance from a private letter1 ,matthew ,arnold1 with that super-subtle ingenuity which loved to take the word and play upon it and make it of innumerable colours1 has constructed1 as one may conjecture some antediluvian wonder from its smallest fragment1 a full1 complete1 and intimate picture of the poet ,thomas ,gray4 ,he never spoke out4 ,here1 we are told1 lies the secret of ,gray's limitation as much in life as in literature3 so sensitive was he in private life1 so modest in public1 that the thoughts that arose in him never got full utterance1 the possibilities of his genius were never fulfilled2 and we1 in our turn1 are left the poorer for that nervous delicacy which has proved the bane of the poet1 living and dead alike4 ,it is a singularly characteristic essay--this paper on ,gray1 showing the writer's logical talent at once in its strongest and its weakest capacities1 and a complete study of ,arnold's method might well1 ,i think1 be founded upon its thirty pages4 ,but in the present instance ,i have recurred to that recurring phrase1 ,he never spoke out1 not to discuss ,matthew ,arnold's estimate of ,gray1 nor1 indeed1 to consider ,gray's relation to his age2 but merely to point out1 what the turn of ,arnold's argument did not require him to consider1 namely1 the extraordinarily un-,english aspect of this reticence in ,gray1 a reticence alien without doubt to the ,english character1 but still more alien to ,english literature4 ,reticence is not a national characteristic--far otherwise4 ,the phrase national characteristic is1 ,i know well1 a cant phrase1 and1 as such1 full of the dangers of abuse4 ,historical and ethnographical criticism1 proceeding on popular lines1 has tried from time to time to fix certain tendencies to certain races1 and to argue from individuals to generalities with a freedom that every law of induction belies4 ,and so we have come to endow the ,frenchman1 universally and without exception1 with politeness1 the ,indian1 equally universally1 with cunning1 the ,american with the commercial talent1 the ,german with the educational1 and so forth4 ,generalisations of this kind must1 of course1 be accepted with limitations4 ,but it is not too much1 perhaps1 to say that the ,englishman has always prided himself upon his frankness4 ,he is always for speaking out2 and it is this faculty of outspokenness that he is anxious to attribute to those characters which he sets up in the market-places of his religion and his literature1 as those whom he chiefly delights to honour4 ,the demigods of our national verse1 the heroes of our national fiction1 are brow-bound1 above all other laurels1 with this glorious freedom of free speech and open manners1 and we have come to regard this broad1 untrammelled virtue of ours1 as all individual virtues will be regarded with the revolution of the cycle of provinciality1 as a guerdon above question or control4 ,we have become inclined to forget that every good thing has1 as ,aristotle pointed out so long ago1 its corresponding evil1 and that the corruption of the best is always worst of all4 ,frankness is so great a boon1 we say3 we can forgive anything to the man who has the courage of his convictions1 the fearlessness of freedom--the man1 in a word1 who speaks out4 ,but we have to distinguish1 ,i think1 at the outset between a national virtue in the rough and the artificial or acquired fashion in which we put that virtue into use4 ,it is obvious that1 though many things are possible to us1 which are good in themselves1 many things are inexpedient1 when considered relatively to our environment4 ,count ,tolstoi may preach his gospel of non-resistance till the beauty of his holiness seems almost ,christ-like2 but every man who goes forth to his work and to his labour knows that the habitual turning of the right cheek to the smiter of the left1 the universal gift of the cloak to the beggar of our coat1 is subversive of all political economy1 and no slight incentive to immorality as well4 ,in the same way1 it will be clear1 that this national virtue of ours1 this wholesome1 sincere outspokenness1 is only possible within certain limits1 set by custom and expediency1 and it is probably a fact that there was never a truly wise man yet but tempered his natural freedom of speech by an acquired habit of reticence4 ,the man who never speaks out may be morose2 the man who is always speaking out is a most undesirable acquaintance4 ,now1 ,i suppose everyone is prepared to admit with ,matthew ,arnold that the literature of an age 7we are not now speaking of poetry alone1 be it understood1 but of literature as a whole71 that this literature must1 in so far as it is truly representative of1 and therefore truly valuable to1 the time in which it is produced1 reflect and criticise the manners1 tastes1 development1 the life1 in fact1 of the age for whose service it was devised4 ,we have1 of course1 critical literature probing the past3 we have philosophical literature prophesying the future2 but the truly representative literature of every age is the creative1 which shows its people its natural face in a glass1 and leaves to posterity the record of the manner of man it found4 ,in one sense1 indeed1 creative literature must inevitably be critical as well1 critical in that it employs the double methods of analysis and synthesis1 dissecting motives and tendencies first1 and then from this examination building up a type1 a sample of the representative man and woman of its epoch4 ,the truest fiction of any given century1 yes1 and the truest poetry1 too 7though the impressionist may deny it71 must be a criticism of life1 must reflect its surroundings4 ,men pass1 and fashions change2 but in the literature of their day their characters1 their tendencies1 remain crystallised for all time3 and what we know of the ,england of ,chaucer and ,shakespeare1 we know wholly and absolutely in the truly representative1 truly creative1 because truly critical literature which they have left to those that come after4 ,it is1 then1 the privilege1 it is more1 it is the duty of the man of letters to speak out1 to be fearless1 to be frank1 to give no ear to the puritans of his hour1 to have no care for the objections of prudery2 the life that he lives is the life he must depict1 if his work is to be of any lasting value4 ,he must be frank1 but he must be something more4 ,he must remember--hourly and momently he must remember--that his virtue1 step by step1 inch by inch1 imperceptibly melts into the vice which stands at its pole2 and that 7to employ ,aristotelian phraseology for the moment7 there is a sort of middle point1 a centre of equilibrium1 to pass which is to disturb and overset the entire fabric of his labours4 ,midway between liberty and license1 in literature as in morals1 stands the pivot of good taste1 the centre-point of art4 ,the natural inclination of frankness1 the inclination of the virtue in the rough1 is to blunder on resolutely with an indomitable and damning sincerity1 till all is said that can be said1 and art is lost in photography4 ,the inclination of frankness1 restrained by and tutored to the limitations of art and beauty1 is to speak so much as is in accordance with the moral idea3 and then1 at the point where ideas melt into mere report1 mere journalistic detail1 to feel intuitively the restraining1 the saving influence of reticence4 ,in every age there has been some point 7its exact position has varied1 it is true1 but the point has always been there7 at which speech stopped short2 and the literature which has most faithfully reflected the manners of that age1 the literature1 in fine1 which has survived its little hour of popularity1 and has lived and is still living1 has inevitably1 invariably1 and without exception been the literature which stayed its hand and voice at the point at which the taste of the age1 the age's conception of art1 set up its statue of reticence1 with her finger to her lips1 and the inscription about her feet3 ,so far shalt thou go1 and no further4 ,we have now1 it seems1 arrived at one consideration1 which must always limit the liberty of frankness1 namely1 the standard of contemporary taste4 ,the modesty that hesitates to align itself with that standard is a shortcoming1 the audacity that rushes beyond is a violence to the unchanging law of literature4 ,but the single consideration is insufficient4 ,if we are content with the criterion of contemporary taste alone1 our standard of judgment becomes purely historical3 we are left1 so to speak1 with a sliding scale which readjusts itself to every new epoch3 we have no permanent and universal test to apply to the literature of different ages3 in a word1 comparative criticism is impossible4 ,we feel at once that we need1 besides the shifting standard of contemporary taste1 some fixed unit of judgment that never varies1 some foot-rule that applies with equal infallibility to the literature of early ,greece and to the literature of later ,france2 and such an unit1 such a foot-rule1 can only be found in the final test of all art1 the necessity of the moral idea4 ,we must1 in distinguishing the thing that may be said fairly and artistically from the thing whose utterance is inadmissible1 we must in such a decision control our judgment by two standards--the one1 the shifting standard of contemporary taste3 the other1 the permanent standard of artistic justification1 the presence of the moral idea4 ,with these two elements in action1 we ought1 ,i think1 to be able to estimate with tolerable fairness the amount of reticence in any age which ceases to be a shortcoming1 the amount of frankness which begins to be a violence in the literature of the period4 ,we ought1 with these two elements in motion1 to be able to employ a scheme of comparative criticism which will prevent us from encouraging that retarding and dangerous doctrine that what was expedient and justifiable1 for instance1 in the dramatists of the ,restoration is expedient and justifiable in the playwrights of our own ,victorian era2 we ought1 too1 to be able to arrive instinctively at a sense of the limits of art1 and to appreciate the point at which frankness becomes a violence1 in that it has degenerated into mere brawling1 animated neither by purpose nor idea4 ,let us1 then1 consider these two standards of taste and art separately3 and first1 let us give a brief attention to the contemporary standard4 ,we may1 ,i think1 take it as a rough working axiom that the point of reticence in literature1 judged by a contemporary standard1 should be settled by the point of reticence in the conversation of the taste and culture of the age4 ,literature is1 after all1 simply the ordered1 careful exposition of the thought of its period1 seeking the best matter of the time1 and setting it forth in the best possible manner2 and it is surely clear that what is written in excess of what is spoken 7in excess ,i mean on the side of license7 is a violence to1 a misrepresentation of1 the period to whose service the literature is devoted4 ,the course of the highest thought of the time should be the course of its literature1 the limit of the most delicate taste of the time the limit of literary expression3 whatever falls below that standard is a shortcoming1 whatever exceeds it a violence4 ,obviously the standard varies immensely with the period4 ,it would be tedious1 nor is it necessary to our purpose1 to make a long historical research into the development of taste2 but a few striking examples may help us to appreciate its variations4 ,to begin with a very early stage of literature1 we find among the ,heracleidae of ,herodotus a stage of contemporary taste which is the result of pure brutality4 ,it is clear that literature adjusted to the frankness of the uxorious pleasantries of ,candaules and ,gyges would justifiably assume a degree of license which1 reasonable enough in its environment1 would be absolutely impossible1 directly the influences of civilisation began to make themselves felt4 ,the age is one of unrestrained brutality1 and the literature which represented it would1 without violence to the contemporary taste1 be brutal too4 ,to pass at a bound to the ,rome of ,juvenal is again to be transported to an age of national sensuality3 the escapades of ,messalina are the inevitable outcome of a national taste that is swamped and left putrescent by limitless self-indulgence2 and the literature which represented this taste would1 without violence1 be lascivious and polluted to its depth4 ,in continuing1 with a still wider sweep1 to the ,england of ,shakespeare1 we find a new development of taste altogether4 ,brutality is softened1 licentiousness is restrained1 immorality no longer stalks abroad shouting its coarse phrases at every wayfarer who passes the ,mermaid or the ,globe4 ,but1 even among types of purity1 reticence is little known4 ,the innuendoes are whispered under the breath1 but when once the voice is lowered1 it matters little what is said4 ,rosalind and ,celia enjoy their little doubles entendres together4 ,hero's wedding morning is an occasion for delicate hints of experiences to come4 ,hamlet plies the coarsest suggestions upon ,ophelia in the intervals of a theatrical performance4 ,the language reflects the taste3 we feel no violence here4 ,to take but one more instance1 let us end with ,sheridan4 ,by his time speech had been refined by sentiment1 and the most graceful compliments glide1 without effort1 from the lips of the adept courtier4 ,but even still1 in the drawing-rooms of fashion1 delicate morsels of scandal are discussed by his fine ladies with a freedom which is absolutely unknown to the ,mayfair of the last half-century1 where innuendo might be conveyed by the eye and suggested by the smile1 but would never1 so reticent has taste become1 find the frank emphatic utterance which brought no blush to the cheek of ,mrs4 ,candour and ,lady ,sneerwell4 ,in the passage of time reticence has become more and more pronounced2 and literature1 moving1 as it must1 with the age1 has assumed in its normal and wholesome form the degree of silence which it finds about it4 ,the standard of taste in literature1 then1 so far as it responds to contemporary judgment1 should be regulated by the normal taste of the hale and cultured man of its age3 it should steer a middle course between the prudery of the manse1 which is for hiding everything vital1 and the effrontery of the pot-house1 which makes for ribaldry and bawdry2 and the more it approximates to the exact equilibrium of its period1 the more thoroughly does it become representative of the best taste of its time1 the more certain is it of permanent recognition4 ,the literature of shortcoming and the literature of violence have their reward3 ,they have their day1 and cease to be2 the literature which reflects the hale and wholesome frankness of its age can be read1 with pleasure and profit1 long after its openness of speech and outlook has ceased to reproduce the surrounding life4 ,the environment is ephemeral1 but the literature is immortal4 ,but why is the literature immortal8 ,why is it that a play like ,pericles1 for instance1 full as it is of scenes which revolt the moral taste1 has lived and is a classic forever1 while innumerable contemporary pieces of no less genius 7for ,pericles is no masterpiece7 have passed into oblivion8 ,why is it that the impurity of ,pericles strikes the reader scarcely at all1 while the memory dwells upon its beauties and forgets its foulness in recollection of its refinement8 ,the reason is not far to seek4 ,pericles is not only free of offence when judged by the taste of its age1 it is no less blameless when we subject it to the test by which all literature is judged at last2 it conforms to the standard of art2 it is permeated by the moral idea4 ,the standard of art--the presence of the idea--the two expressions are1 ,i believe1 synonymous4 ,it is easy enough to babble of the beauty of things considered apart from their meaning1 it is easy enough to dilate on the satisfaction of art in itself1 but all these phrases are merely collocations of terms1 empty and meaningless4 ,a thing can only be artistic by virtue of the idea it suggests to us2 when the idea is coarse1 ungainly1 unspeakable1 the object that suggests it is coarse1 ungainly1 unspeakable2 art and ethics must always be allied in that the merit of the art is dependent on the merit of the idea it prompts4 ,perhaps ,i shall show my meaning more clearly by an example from the more tangible art of painting2 and let me take as an instance an artist who has produced pictures at once the most revolting and most moral of any in the history of ,english art4 ,i mean ,hogarth4 ,we are all familiar with his coarsenesses2 all these have we known from our youth up4 ,but it is only the schoolboy who searches the ,bible for its indecent passages2 when we are become men1 we put away such childish satisfactions4 ,then we begin to appreciate the idea which underlies the subject3 we feel that ,hogarth-- ,whose pictured morals charm the mind1 ,and through the eye correct the heart-- was1 even in his grossest moments1 profoundly moral1 entirely sane1 because he never dallied lasciviously with his subject1 because he did not put forth vice with the pleasing semblance of virtue1 because1 like all hale and wholesome critics of life1 he condemned excess1 and pictured it merely to portray the worthlessness1 the weariness1 the dissatisfaction of lust and license4 ,art1 we say1 claims every subject for her own2 life is open to her ken2 she may fairly gather her subjects where she will4 ,most true4 ,but there is all the difference in the world between drawing life as we find it1 sternly and relentlessly1 surveying it all the while from outside with the calm1 unflinching gaze of criticism1 and1 on the other hand1 yielding ourselves to the warmth and colour of its excesses1 losing our judgment in the ecstasies of the joy of life1 becoming1 in a word1 effeminate4 ,the man lives by ideas2 the woman by sensations2 and while the man remains an artist so long as he holds true to his own view of life1 the woman becomes one as soon as she throws off the habit of her sex1 and learns to rely upon her judgment1 and not upon her senses4 ,it is only when we regard life with the untrammelled view of the impartial spectator1 when we pierce below the substance for its animating idea1 that we approximate to the artistic temperament4 ,it is unmanly1 it is effeminate1 it is inartistic to gloat over pleasure1 to revel in immoderation1 to become passion's slave2 and literature demands as much calmness of judgment1 as much reticence1 as life itself4 ,the man who loses reticence loses self-respect1 and the man who has no respect for himself will scarcely find others to venerate him4 ,after all1 the world generally takes us at our own valuation4 ,we have now1 ,i trust1 arrived 7though1 it may be1 by a rather circuitous journey7 at something like a definite and reasonable law for the exercise of reticence2 it only remains to consider by what test we shall most easily discover the presence or absence of the animating moral idea which we have found indispensable to art4 ,it seems to me that three questions will generally suffice4 ,does the work1 we should ask ourselves1 make for that standard of taste which is normal to wholesomeness and sanity of judgment8 ,does it1 or does it not1 encourage us to such a line of life as is recommended1 all question of tenet and creed apart1 by the experience of the age1 as the life best calculated to promote individual and general good8 ,and does it encourage to this life in language and by example so chosen as not to offend the susceptibilities of that ordinarily strong and unaffected taste which1 after all1 varies very little with the changes of the period and development8 ,when creative literature satisfies these three requirements--when it is sane1 equable1 and well spoken1 then it is safe to say it conforms to the moral idea1 and is consonant with art4 ,by its sanity it eludes the risk of effeminate demonstration2 by its choice of language it avoids brutality2 and between these two poles1 it may be affirmed without fear of question1 true taste will and must be found to lie4 ,these general considerations1 already too far prolonged1 become of immediate interest to us as soon as we attempt to apply them to the literature of our own half-century1 and ,i propose concluding what ,i wished to say on the necessity of reticence by considering1 briefly and without mention of names1 that realistic movement in ,english literature which1 under different titles1 and protected by the gis of various schools1 has proved1 without doubt1 the most interesting and suggestive development in the poetry and fiction of our time4 ,during the last quarter of a century1 more particularly1 the ,english man-of-letters has been indulging1 with an entirely new freedom1 his national birthright of outspokenness1 and during the last twelve months there have been no uncertain indications that this freedom of speech is degenerating into license which some of us cannot but view with regret and apprehension4 ,the writers and the critics of contemporary literature have1 it would seem1 alike lost their heads2 they have gone out into the byways and hedges in search of the new thing1 and have brought into the study and subjected to the microscope mean objects of the roadside1 whose analysis may be of value to science but is absolutely foreign to art4 ,the age of brutality1 pure and simple1 is dead with us1 it is true2 but the age of effeminacy appears1 if one is to judge by recent evidence1 to be growing to its dawn4 ,the day that follows will1 if it fulfils the promise of its morning1 be very serious and very detrimental to our future literature4 ,every great productive period of literature has been the result of some internal or external revulsion of feeling1 some current of ideas4 ,this is a commonplace4 ,the greatest periods of production have been those when the national mind has been directed to some vast movement of emancipation--the discovery of new countries1 the defeat of old enemies1 the opening of fresh possibilities4 ,literature is best stimulated by stirrings like these4 ,now1 the last quarter of a century in ,english history has been singularly sterile of important improvements4 ,there has been no very inspiring acquisition to territory or to knowledge3 there has been1 in consequence1 no marked influx of new ideas4 ,the mind has been thrown back upon itself2 lacking stimulus without1 it has sought inspiration within1 and the most characteristic literature of the time has been introspective4 ,following one course1 it has betaken itself to that intimately analytical fiction which we associate primarily with ,america2 it has sifted motives and probed psychology1 with the result that it has proved an exceedingly clever1 exact1 and scientific1 but scarcely stimulating1 or progressive school of literature4 ,following another course1 it has sought for subject-matter in the discussion of passions and sensations1 common1 doubtless1 to every age of mankind1 interesting and necessary1 too1 in their way1 but passions and sensations hitherto dissociated with literature1 hitherto1 perhaps1 scarcely realised to their depth and intensity4 ,it is in this development that the new school of realism has gone furthest2 and it is in this direction that the literature of the future seems likely to follow4 ,it is1 therefore1 not without value to consider for a moment whither this new frankness is leading us1 and how far its freedom is reconciled to that standard of necessary reticence which ,i have tried to indicate in these pages4 ,this present tendency to literary frankness had its origin1 ,i think1 no less than twenty-eight years ago4 ,it was then that the dovecotes of ,english taste were tremulously fluttered by the coming of a new poet1 whose naked outspokenness startled his readers into indignation4 ,literature1 which had retrograded into a melancholy sameness1 found itself convulsed by a sudden access of passion1 which was probably without parallel since the age of the silver poets of ,rome4 ,this new singer scrupled not to revel in sensations which for years had remained unmentioned upon the printed page2 he even chose for his subjects refinements of lust1 which the commonly healthy ,englishman believed to have become extinct with the time of ,juvenal4 ,here was an innovation which was absolutely alien to the standard of contemporary taste--an innovation1 ,i believe1 that was equally opposed to that final moderation without which literature is lifeless4 ,let us listen for one moment3 ,by the ravenous teeth that have smitten ,through the kisses that blossom and bud1 ,by the lips intertwisted and bitten ,till the foam has a savour of blood1 ,by the pulse as it rises and falters1 ,by the hands as they slacken and strain1 ,i adjure thee1 respond from thine altars1 ,our ,lady of ,pain4 ,as of old when the world's heart was lighter1 ,through thy garments the grace of thee glows1 ,the white wealth of thy body made whiter ,by the blushes of amorous blows1 ,and seamed with sharp lips and fierce fingers1 ,and branded by kisses that bruise2 ,when all shall be gone that now lingers1 ,ah1 what shall we lose8 ,thou wert fair in thy fearless old fashion1 ,and thy limbs are as melodies yet1 ,and move to the music of passion ,with lithe and lascivious regret4 ,what ailed us1 ,o gods1 to desert you ,for creeds that refuse and restrain8 ,come down and redeem us from virtue1 ,our ,lady of ,pain4 ,this was twenty-eight years ago2 and still the poetry lives4 ,at first sight it would seem as though the desirable reticence1 upon which we have been insisting1 were as yet unnecessary to immortality4 ,a quarter of a century has passed1 it might be argued1 and the verse is as fresh to-day and as widely recognised as it was in its morning3 is not this a proof that art asks for no moderation8 ,i believe not4 ,it is true that the poetry lives1 that we all recognise1 at some period of our lives1 the grasp and tenacity of its influence2 that1 even when the days come in which we say we have no pleasure in it1 we still turn to it at times for something we do not find elsewhere4 ,but the thing we seek is not the matter1 but the manner4 ,the poetry is living1 not by reason of its unrestrained frankness1 but in spite of it1 for the sake of something else4 ,that sweet singer who charmed and shocked the audiences of #ahff1 charms us1 if he shocks us not now1 by virtue of the one new thing that he imported into ,english poetry1 the unique and as yet imperishable faculty of musical possibilities hitherto unattained4 ,there is no such music in all the range of ,english verse1 seek where you will1 as there is in him4 ,but the perfection of the one talent1 its care1 its elaboration1 have resulted in a corresponding decay of those other faculties by which alone1 in the long run1 poetry can live4 ,open him where you will1 there is in his poetry neither construction nor proportion2 no development1 no sustained dramatic power4 ,open him where you will1 you acquire as much sense of his meaning and purpose from any two isolated stanzas as from the study of a whole poem4 ,there remains in your ears1 when you have ceased from reading1 the echo only of a beautiful voice1 chanting1 as it were1 the melodies of some outland tongue4 ,is this the sort of poetry that will survive the trouble of the ages8 ,it cannot survive4 ,the time will come 7it must7 when some newer singer discovers melodies as yet unknown1 melodies which surpass in their modulations and varieties those poems and ballads of twenty-eight years ago2 and1 when we have found the new note1 what will be left of the earlier singer1 to which we shall of necessity return8 ,a message8 ,no4 ,philosophy8 ,no4 ,a new vision of life8 ,no4 ,a criticism of contemporary existence8 ,assuredly not4 ,there remains the melody alone2 and this1 when once it is surpassed1 will charm us little enough4 ,we shall forget it then4 ,art brings in her revenges1 and this will be of them4 ,but the new movement did not stop here4 ,if1 in the poet we have been discussing1 we have found the voice among us that corresponds to the decadent voices of the failing ,roman ,republic1 there has reached us from ,france another utterance1 which ,i should be inclined to liken to the outspoken brutality of ,restoration drama4 ,taste no longer fails on the ground of a delicate1 weakly dalliance1 it begins to see its own limitations1 and springs to the opposite pole4 ,it will now be virile1 full of the sap of life1 strong1 robust1 and muscular4 ,it will hurry us out into the fields1 will show us the coarser passions of the common farm-hand2 at any expense it will paint the life it finds around it2 it will at least be consonant with that standard of want of taste which it falsely believes to be contemporary4 ,we get a realistic fiction abroad1 and we begin to copy it at home4 ,we will trace the life of the travelling actor1 follow him into the vulgar1 sordid surroundings which he chooses for the palace of his love1 be it a pottery-shed or the ill-furnished lodging-room with its black horsehair sofa--we will draw them all1 and be faithful to the lives we live4 ,is that the sort of literature that will survive the trouble of the ages8 ,it cannot survive4 ,we are no longer untrue to our time1 perhaps1 if we are to seek for the heart of that time in the lowest and meanest of its representatives2 but we are untrue to art1 untrue to the record of our literary past1 when we are content to turn for our own inspiration to anything but the best line of thought1 the highest school of life1 through which we are moving4 ,this grosser realism is no more representative of its time than were the elaborate pastiches of classical degradation2 it is as though one should repeople ,eden with creatures imagined from a study of the serpent's head4 ,in the history of literature this movement1 too1 will with the lapse of time pass unrecognised2 it has mourned unceasingly to an age which did not lack for innocent piping and dancing in its market-places4 ,the two developments of realism of which we have been speaking seem to me to typify the two excesses into which frankness is inclined to fall2 on the one hand1 the excess prompted by effeminacy--that is to say1 by the want of restraints which starts from enervated sensation2 and on the other1 the excess which results from a certain brutal virility1 which proceeds from coarse familiarity with indulgence4 ,the one whispers1 the other shouts2 the one is the language of the courtesan1 the other of the bargee4 ,what we miss in both alike is that true frankness which springs from the artistic and moral temperament2 the episodes are no part of a whole in unity with itself2 the impression they leave upon the reader is not the impression of ,hogarth's pictures2 in one form they employ all their art to render vice attractive1 in the other1 with absolutely no art at all1 they merely reproduce1 with the fidelity of the kodak1 scenes and situations the existence of which we all acknowledge1 while taste prefers to forget them4 ,but the latest development of literary frankness is1 ,i think1 the most insidious and fraught with the greatest danger to art4 ,a new school has arisen which combines the characteristics of effeminacy and brutality4 ,in its effeminate aspect it plays with the subtler emotions of sensual pleasure1 on its brutal side it has developed into that class of fiction which for want of a better word ,i must call chirurgical4 ,in poetry it deals with very much the same passions as those which we have traced in the verse to which allusion has been made above2 but1 instead of leaving these refinements of lust to the haunts to which they are fitted1 it has introdduced them into the domestic chamber1 and permeated marriage with the ardours of promiscuous intercourse4 ,in fiction it infects its heroines with acquired diseases of names unmentionable1 and has debased the beauty of maternity by analysis of the process of gestation4 ,surely the inartistic temperament can scarcely abuse literature further4 ,i own ,i can conceive nothing less beautiful4 ,it was said of a great poet by a little critic that he wheeled his nuptial couch into the area2 but these small poets and smaller novelists bring out their sick into the thoroughfare1 and stop the traffic while they give us a clinical lecture upon their sufferings4 ,we are told that this is a part of the revolt of woman1 and certainly our women-writers are chiefly to blame4 ,it is out of date1 no doubt1 to clamour for modesty2 but the woman who describes the sensations of childbirth does so1 it is to be presumed--not as the writer of advice to a wife--but as an artist producing literature for art's sake4 ,and so one may fairly ask her3 ,how is art served by all this8 ,what has she told us that we did not all know1 or could not learn from medical manuals8 and what impression has she left us over and above the memory of her unpalatable details8 ,and our poets1 who know no rhyme for rest but that breast whose snowinesses and softnesses they are for ever describing with every accent of indulgence1 whose eyes are all for frills1 if not for garters1 what have they sung that was not sung with far greater beauty and sincerity in the days when frills and garters were alluded to with the open frankness that cried shame on him who evil thought4 ,the one extremity1 it seems to me1 offends against the standard of contemporary taste2 7people1 as ,hedda ,gabler said1 do not say such things now72 the other extremity rebels against that universal standard of good taste that has from the days of ,milo distinguished between the naked and the nude4 ,we are losing the distinction now2 the cry for realism1 naked and unashamed1 is borne in upon us from every side3 ,rip your brother's vices open1 strip your own foul passions bare2 ,down with ,reticence1 down with ,reverence--forward--naked--let them stare4 ,but there was an ,emperor once 7we know the story7 who went forth among his people naked4 ,it was said that he wore fairy clothes1 and that only the unwise could fail to see them4 ,at last a little child raised its voice from the crowd6 ,why1 he has nothing on1 it said4 ,and so these writers of ours go out from day to day1 girded on1 they would have us believe1 with the garments of art2 and fashion has lacked the courage to cry out with the little child3 ,they have nothing on4 ,no robe of art1 no texture of skill1 they whirl before us in a bacchanalian dance naked and unashamed4 ,but the time will come1 it must1 when the voices of the multitude will take up the cry of the child1 and the revellers will hurry to their houses in dismay4 ,without dignity1 without self-restraint1 without the morality of art1 literature has never survived2 they are the few who rose superior to the baser levels of their time1 who stand unimpugned among the immortals now4 ,and that mortal who would put on immortality must first assume that habit of reticence1 that garb of humility by which true greatness is best known4 ,to endure restraint--that is to be strong4 ,a ,lady ,reading ,by ,walter ,sickert ,reproduced by ,messrs4 ,carl ,hentschel ,co4 ,illustration3 ,a ,lady ,reading ,modern ,melodrama ,by ,hubert ,crackanthorpe ,the pink shade of a single lamp supplied an air of subdued mystery2 the fire burned red and still2 in place of door and windows hung curtains1 obscure1 formless2 the furniture1 dainty1 but sparse1 stood detached and incordinate like the furniture of a stage-scene2 the atmosphere was heavy with heat1 and a scent of stale tobacco2 some cut flowers1 half withered1 tissue-paper still wrapping their stalks1 lay on a gilt1 cane-bottomed chair4 ,will you give me a sheet of paper1 please8 ,he had crossed the room1 to seat himself before the principal table4 ,he wore a fur-lined overcoat1 and he was tall1 and broad1 and bald2 a sleek face1 made grave by gold-rimmed spectacles4 ,the other man was in evening dress2 his back leaning against the mantelpiece1 his hands in his pockets3 he was moodily scraping the hearthrug with his toe4 ,clean-shaved2 stolid and coarsely regular features2 black1 shiny hair1 flattened on to his head2 under-sized eyes1 moist and glistening2 the tint of his face uniform1 the tint of discoloured ivory2 he looked a man who ate well and lived hard4 ,certainly1 sir1 certainly1 and he started to hurry about the room4 ,daisy1 he exclaimed roughly1 a moment later1 where the deuce do you keep the note-paper8 ,i don't know if there is any1 but the girl always has some4 ,she spoke in a slow tone--insolent and fatigued4 ,a couple of bed-pillows were supporting her head1 and a scarlet plush cloak1 trimmed with white down1 was covering her feet1 as she lay curled on the sofa4 ,the fire-light glinted on the metallic gold of her hair1 which clashed with the black of her eyebrows2 and the full1 blue eyes1 wide-set1 contradicted the hard line of her vivid-red lips4 ,she drummed her fingers on the sofa-edge1 nervously4 ,never mind1 said the bald man shortly1 producing a notebook from his breast-pocket1 and tearing a leaf from it4 ,he wrote1 and the other two stayed silent2 the man returned to the hearthrug1 lifting his coat-tails under his arms2 the girl went on drumming the sofa-edge4 ,there1 sliding back his chair1 and looking from the one to the other1 evidently uncertain which of the two he should address4 ,here is the prescription4 ,get it made up to-night1 a table-spoonful at a time1 in a wine-glassful of water at lunch-time1 at dinner-time and before going to bed4 ,go on with the port wine twice a day1 and 7to the girl1 deliberately and distinctly7 you must keep quite quiet2 avoid all sort of excitement--that is extremely important4 ,of course you must on no account go out at night4 ,go to bed early1 take regular meals1 and keep always warm4 ,i say1 broke in the girl1 tell us1 it isn't bad--dangerous1 ,i mean8 ,dangerous6--no1 not if you do what ,i tell you4 ,he glanced at his watch1 and rose1 buttoning his coat4 ,good-evening1 he said gravely4 ,at first she paid no heed2 she was vacantly staring before her3 then1 suddenly conscious that he was waiting1 she looked up at him4 ,good-night1 doctor4 ,she held out her hand1 and he took it4 ,i'll get all right1 won't ,i8 she asked1 still looking up at him4 ,all right--of course you will--of course4 ,but remember you must do what ,i tell you4 ,the other man handed him his hat and umbrella1 opened the door for him1 and it closed behind them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the girl remained quiet1 sharply blinking her eyes1 her whole expression eager1 intense4 ,a murmer of voices1 a muffled tread of footsteps descending the stairs--the gentle shutting of a door--stillness4 ,she raised herself on her elbow1 listening2 the cloak slipped noiselessly to the floor4 ,quickly her arm shot out to the bell-rope3 she pulled it violently2 waited1 expectant2 and pulled again4 ,a slatternly figure appeared--a woman of middle-age--her arms1 bared to the elbows1 smeared with dirt2 a grimy apron over her knees4 ,what's up8--,i was smashin' coal1 she explained4 ,come here1 hoarsely whispered the girl--here--no--nearer--quite close4 ,where's he gone8 ,gone8 'oo8 ,that man that was here4 ,i s'ppose 'ee's in the downstairs room4 ,i ain't 'eard the front door slam4 ,and ,dick1 where's he8 ,they're both in there together1 ,i s'ppose4 ,i want you to go down--quietly--without making a noise--listen at the door--come up1 and tell me what they're saying4 ,what8 down there8 jerking her thumb over her shoulder4 ,yes1 of course--at once1 answered the girl1 impatiently4 ,and if they catches me--a nice fool ,i looks4 ,no1 ,i'm jest blowed if ,i do6 she concluded4 ,whatever's up8 ,you must1 the girl broke out excitedly4 ,i tell you1 you must4 ,must--must--an' if ,i do1 what am ,i goin' to git out of it8 ,she paused1 reflecting2 then added3 ,look 'ere--,i tell yer what--,i'll do it for half a quid1 there8 ,yes--yes--all right--only make haste4 ,an' 'ow d' ,i know as ,i'll git it8 she objected doggedly4 ,it's a jolly risk1 yer know4 ,the girl sprang up1 flushed and feverish4 ,quick--or he'll be gone4 ,i don't know where it is--but you shall have it--,i promise--quick--please go--quick4 ,the other hesitated1 her lips pressed together2 turned1 and went out4 ,and the girl1 catching at her breath1 clutched a chair4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a flame flickered up in the fire1 buzzing spasmodically4 ,a creak outside4 ,she had come up4 ,but the curtains did not move4 ,why didn't she come in8 ,she was going past4 ,the girl hastened across the room1 the intensity of the impulse lending her strength4 ,come--come in1 she gasped4 ,quick--,i'm slipping4 ,she struck at the wall2 but with the flat of her hand1 for there was no grip4 ,the woman bursting in1 caught her1 and led her back to the sofa4 ,there1 there1 dearie1 tucking the cloak round her feet4 ,lift up the piller1 my 'ands are that mucky4 ,will yer 'ave anythin'8 ,she shook her head4 ,it's gone1 she muttered4 ,now--tell me4 ,tell yer8--tell yer what6 ,why--why--there ain't jest nothin' to tell yer4 ,what were they saying8 ,quick4 ,i didn't 'ear nothin'4 ,they was talking about some ballet-woman4 ,the girl began to cry1 feebly1 helplessly1 like a child in pain4 ,you might tell me1 ,liz4 ,you might tell me4 ,i've been a good sort to you4 ,that yer 'ave4 ,i knows yer 'ave1 dearie4 ,there1 there1 don't yer take on like that4 ,yer'll only make yerself bad again4 ,tell me--tell me1 she wailed4 ,i've been a good sort to you1 ,liz4 ,well1 they wasn't talkin' of no ballet-woman--that's straight1 the woman blurted out savagely4 ,what did he say8--tell me4 ,her voice was weaker now4 ,i can't tell yer--don't yer ask me--for ,god's sake1 don't yer ask me4 ,with a low crooning the girl cried again4 ,oh6 for ,god's sake1 don't yer take on like that--it's awful--,i can't stand it4 ,there1 dearie1 stop that cryin' an' ,i'll tell yer--,i will indeed4 ,it was jest this way--,i slips my shoes off1 an' ,i goes down as careful--jest as careful as a cat--an' when ,i gets to the door ,i crouches myself down1 listenin' as 'ard as ever ,i could4 ,the first things as ,i 'ears was ,mr4 ,dick speakin' thick-like--like as if 'ee'd bin drinkin'--an t'other chap 'ee says somethin' about lungs1 using some long word--,i missed that--there was a van or somethin' rackettin' on the road4 ,then 'ee says 'gallopin'1 gallopin'1' jest like as 'ee was talkin' of a 'orse4 ,an' ,mr4 ,dick1 'ee says1 'ain't there no chance--no'ow8' and 'ee give a sort of a grunt4 ,i was awful sorry for 'im1 that ,i was1 'ee must 'ave been crool bad1 'ee's mostly so quiet-like1 ain't 'ee8 ,an'1 in a minute1 ee sort o' groans out somethin'1 an' t'other chap 'es answer 'im quite cool-like1 that 'ee don't properly know2 but1 anyways1 it 'ud be over afore the end of ,february4 ,there ,i've done it4 ,oh6 dearie1 it's awful1 awful1 that's jest what it is4 ,an' ,i 'ad no intention to tell yer--not a blessed word--that ,i didn't--may ,god strike me blind if ,i did6 ,some'ow it all come out1 seein' yer chokin' that 'ard an' feelin' at the wall there4 ,yer 'ad no right to ask me to do it--'ow was ,i to know 'ee was a doctor8 ,she put the two corners of her apron to her eyes1 gurgling loudly4 ,look 'ere1 don't yer b'lieve a word of it--,i don't--,i tell yer they're a 'umbuggin' lot1 them doctors1 all together4 ,i know it4 ,yer take my word for that--yer'll git all right again4 ,yer'll be as well as ,i am1 afore yer've done--,oh1 ,lord6--it's jest awful--,i feel that upset--,i'd like to cut my tongue out1 for 'avin' told yer--but ,i jest couldn't 'elp myself4 ,she was retreating towards the door1 wiping her eyes1 and snorting out loud sobs--,an'1 don't you offer me that half quid--,i couldn't take it of yer--that ,i couldn't4 99 99 99 99 99 ,she shivered1 sat up1 and dragged the cloak tight round her shoulders4 ,in her desire to get warm she forgot what had happened4 ,she extended the palms of her hands towards the grate3 the grate was delicious4 ,a smoking lump of coal clattered on to the fender3 she lifted the tongs1 but the sickening remembrance arrested her4 ,the things in the room were receding1 dancing round3 the fire was growing taller and taller4 ,the woollen scarf chafed her skin3 she wrenched it off4 ,then hope1 keen and bitter1 shot up1 hurting her4 ,how could he know8 ,of course he couldn't know4 ,she'd been a lot better this last fortnight--the other doctor said so--she didn't believe it--she didn't care----,anyway1 it would be over before the end of ,february6 ,suddenly the crooning wail started again3 next1 spasms of weeping1 harsh and gasping4 ,by-and-by she understood that she was crying noisily1 and that she was alone in the room2 like a light in a wind1 the sobbing fit ceased4 ,let me live--let me live--,i'll be straight--,i'll go to church--,i'll do anything6 ,take it away--it hurts--,i can't bear it6 ,once more the sound of her own voice in the empty room calmed her4 ,but the tension of emotion slackened1 only to tighten again3 immediately she was jeering at herself4 ,what was she wasting her breath for8 ,what had ,jesus ever done for her8 ,she'd had her fling1 and it was no thanks to ,him4 ',dy-sy--,dy-sy----' ,from the street below1 boisterous and loud1 the refrain came up4 ,and1 as the footsteps tramped away1 the words reached her once more1 indistinct in the distance3 ',i'm jest cryzy1 all for the love o' you4' ,she felt frightened4 ,it was like a thing in a play4 ,it was as if some one was there1 in the room--hiding--watching her4 ,then a coughing fit started1 racking her4 ,in the middle1 she struggled to cry for help2 she thought she was going to suffocate4 ,afterwards she sank back1 limp1 tired1 and sleepy4 ,the end of ,february--she was going to die--it was important1 exciting--what would it be like8 ,everybody else died4 ,midge had died in the summer--but that was worry and going the pace4 ,and they said that ,annie ,evans was going off too4 ,damn it6 she wasn't going to be chicken-hearted4 ,she'd face it4 ,she'd had a jolly time4 ,she'd be game till the end4 ,hell-fire--that was all stuff and nonsense--she knew that4 ,it would be just nothing--like a sleep4 ,not even painful3 she'd be just shut down in a coffin1 and she wouldn't know that they were doing it4 ,ah6 but they might do it before she was quite dead6 ,it had happened sometimes4 ,and she wouldn't be able to get out4 ,the lid would be nailed1 and there would be earth on the top4 ,and if she called1 no one would hear4 ,ugh6 what a fit of the blues she was getting6 ,it was beastly1 being alone4 ,why the devil didn't ,dick come back8 ,that noise1 what was that8 ,bah6 only some one in the street4 ,what a fool she was6 ,she winced again as the fierce feeling of revolt swept through her1 the wild longing to fight4 ,it was damned rough--four months6 ,a year1 six months even1 was a long time4 ,the pain grew acute1 different from anything she had felt before4 ,good ,lord6 what am ,i maundering on about8 ,four months--,i'll go out with a fizzle like a firework4 ,why the devil doesn't ,dick come8--or ,liz--or somebody8 ,what do they leave me alone like this for8 ,she dragged at the bell-rope4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he came in1 white and blear-eyed4 ,whatever have you been doing all this time8 she began angrily4 ,i've been chatting with the doctor4 ,he was pretending to read a newspaper3 there was something funny about his voice4 ,it's ripping4 ,he says you'll soon be fit again1 as long as you don't get colds1 or that sort of thing4 ,yes1 he says you'll soon be fit again--a quick1 crackling noise--he had gripped the newspaper in his fist4 ,she looked at him1 surprised1 in spite of herself4 ,she would never have thought he'd have done it like that4 ,he was a good sort1 after all4 ,but--she didn't know why--she broke out furiously3 ,you infernal liar6--,i know4 ,i shall be done for by the end of ,february--ha6 ha6 ,seizing a vase of flowers1 she flung it into the grate4 ,the crash and the shrivelling of the leaves in the flames brought her an instant's relief4 ,then she said quietly3 ,there--,i've made an idiot of myself2 but 7weakly7 ,i didn't know--,i didn't know--,i thought it was different4 ,he hesitated1 embarrassed by his own emotion4 ,presently he went up to her and put his hands round her cheeks4 ,no1 she said1 that's no good1 ,i don't want that4 ,get me something to drink4 ,i feel bad4 ,he hurried to the cupboard and fumbled with the cork of a champagne bottle4 ,it flew out with a bang4 ,she started violently4 ,you clumsy fool6 she exclaimed4 ,she drank off the wine at a gulp4 ,daisy1 he began4 ,she was staring stonily at the empty glass4 ,daisy1 he repeated4 ,she tapped her toe against the fender-rail4 ,at this sign1 he went on3 ,how did you know8 ,i sent ,liz to listen1 she answered mechanically4 ,he looked about him1 helpless4 ,i think ,i'll smoke1 he said feebly4 ,she made no answer4 ,here1 put the glass down1 she said4 ,he obeyed4 ,he lit a cigarette over the lamp1 sat down opposite her1 puffing dense clouds of smoke4 ,and1 for a long while1 neither spoke4 ,is that doctor a good man8 ,i don't know4 ,people say so1 he answered4 ,two ,songs ,by ,john ,davidson ,i--,london ,athwart the sky a lowly sigh ,from west to east the sweet wind carried2 ,the sun stood still on ,primrose ,hill2 ,his light in all the city tarried3 ,the clouds on viewless columns bloomed ,like smouldering lilies unconsumed4 ,oh1 sweetheart1 see1 how shadowy1 ,of some occult magician's rearing1 ,or swung in space of ,heaven's grace1 ,dissolving1 dimly reappearing1 ,afloat upon ethereal tides ,st4 ,paul above the city rides6 ,a rumour broke through the thin smoke ,enwreathing ,abbey1 ,tower1 and ,palace1 ,the parks1 the squares1 the thoroughfares1 ,the million-peopled lanes and alleys1 ,an ever-muttering prisoned storm1 ,the heart of ,london beating warm4 ,,ii-,down-a-down ,foxes peeped from out their dens1 ,day grew pale and olden2 ,blackbirds1 willow-warblers1 wrens1 ,staunched their voices golden4 ,high1 oh high1 from the opal sky1 ,shouting against the dark1 ,why1 why1 why must the day go by8 ,fell a passionate lark4 ,but the cuckoos beat their brazen gongs1 ,sounding1 sounding so2 ,and the nightingales poured in starry songs ,a galaxy below4 ,slowly tolling the vesper bell ,ushered the stately night4 ,down-a-down in a hawthorn dell ,a boy and a girl and love's delight4 ,the ,love-,story of ,luigi ,tansillo ,by ,richard ,garnett ,now that my wings are spread to my desire1 ,the more vast height withdraws the dwindling land1 ,wider to wind these pinions ,i expand1 ,and earth disdain1 and higher mount and higher ,nor of the fate of ,icarus inquire1 ,or cautious droop1 or sway to either hand2 ,dead ,i shall fall1 full well ,i understand2 ,but who lives gloriously as ,i expire8 ,yet hear ,i my own heart that pleading cries1 ,stay1 madman6 ,whither art thou bound8 ,descend6 ,ruin is ready ,rashness to chastise4 ,but ,i1 ,fear not1 though this indeed the end2 ,cleave we the clouds1 and praise our destinies1 ,if noble fall on noble flight attend4 ,the above sonnet1 one of the finest in ,italian literature1 is already known to many ,english readers in another translation by the late ,mr4 ,j4 ,addington ,symonds1 which originally appeared in the ,cornhill ,magazine1 and is prefixed to his translation of the sonnets of ,michael ,angelo and ,campanella 7,london1 #ahgh71 under the title of ,the ,philosopher's ,flight4 ,in his preface ,mr4 ,symonds says3 ,the sonnet prefixed as a proem to the whole book is generally attributed to ,giordano ,bruno1 in whose ,dialogue in the ',eroici ,furori' it occurs4 ,there seems1 however1 good reason to suppose that it was really written by ,tansillo1 who recites it in that dialogue4 ,whoever may have been its author1 it expresses in noble and impassioned verse the sense of danger1 the audacity1 and the exultation of those pioneers of modern thought1 for whom philosophy was a voyage of discovery into untravelled regions4 ,mr4 ,symonds's knowledge of ,italian literature was so extensive that he must have had ground for stating that the sonnet is generally attributed to ,giordano ,bruno2 as it certainly is by ,de ,sanctis1 though it is printed as ,tansillo's in all editions of his works1 imperfect as these were before the appearance of ,signor ,fiorentino's in #ahhb4 ,it is1 nevertheless1 remarkable that he should add3 ,there seems good reason to suppose that it was really written by ,tansillo1 as if there could be a shadow of doubt on the matter4 ,eroici ,furori is professedly a series of dialogues between ,luigi ,tansillo the ,neapolitan poet1 who had died about twenty years before their composition1 and ,cicero1 but is in reality little more than a monologue1 for ,tansillo does nearly all the talking1 and ,cicero receives his instructions with singular docility4 ,the reason of ,tansillo's selection for so great an honour was undoubtedly that1 although born at ,venosa1 he belonged by descent to ,nola1 ,bruno's own city4 ,in making such free use of ,tansillo's poetry as he has done throughout these dialogues1 ,bruno was far from the least idea of pillaging his distinguished countryman4 ,in introducing the four sonnets he has borrowed 7for there are three besides that already quoted7 he is always careful to make ,tansillo speak of them as his own compositions1 which he never does when ,bruno's own verses are put into his mouth4 ,if a particle of doubt could remain1 it would be dispelled by the fact that this sonnet1 with other poems by ,tansillo1 including the three other sonnets introduced into ,bruno's dialogue1 is published under his name in the ,rime di diversi illustri ,signori ,napoletani1 edited by ,lodovico ,dolce at ,venice1 in #aeee1 when ,bruno was about seven years old6 ,mr4 ,symonds's interpretation of the sonnet also is erroneous--in so far1 at least1 as that the meaning assigned by him never entered into the head of the author4 ,it is certainly fully susceptible of such an exposition4 ,but ,tansillo1 no philosopher1 but a cavalier1 the active part of whose life was mainly spent in naval expeditions against the ,turks1 no more thought with ,mr4 ,symonds of the pioneers of modern philosophy1 than he thought with ,bruno of arising and freeing himself from the body and sensual cognition4 ,on the contrary1 the sonnet is a love-sonnet1 and depicts with extraordinary grandeur the elation of spirit1 combined with a sense of peril1 consequent upon the poet having conceived a passion for a lady greatly his superior in rank4 ,the proof of this is to be found in the fact that the sonnet is one of a series1 unequivocally celebrating an earthly passion2 and especially in the sonnet immediately preceding it in ,dolce's collection1 manifestly written at the same time and referring to the same circumstance1 in which the poet ascribes his ,icarian flight1 not to the influence of ,philosophy1 but of ,love3 ,love fits me forth with wings1 which so dilate1 ,sped skyward at the call of daring thought1 ,i high and higher soar1 with purpose fraught ,soon to lay smiting hand on ,heaven's gate4 ,yet altitude so vast might well abate ,my confidence1 if ,love not succour brought1 ,pledging my fame not jeopardised in aught1 ,and promising renown as ruin great4 ,if he whom like audacity inspired1 ,falling gave name immortal to the flood1 ,as sunny flame his waxen pinion fired2 ,then of thee too it shall be understood1 ,no meaner prize than ,heaven thy soul required1 ,and firmer than thy life thy courage stood4 ,the meaning of the two sonnets is fully recognised by ,muratori1 who prints them together in his treatise1 ,della perfetta poesia1 and adds3 volea dire costui che s'era imbarcato in un'amor troppo alto1 e s'andava facendo coraggio4 ,this is surely one of the most remarkable instances possible to adduce of the infinite significance of true poetry1 and its capacity for inspiring ideas and suggesting interpretations of which the poet never dreamed1 but which are nevertheless fairly deducible from his expressions4 ,it is now a matter of considerable interest to ascertain the identity of this lady of rank1 who could inspire a passion at once so exalted and so perilous4 ,the point has been investigated by ,tansillo's editor1 ,signor ,f4 ,fiorentino1 who has done so much to rescue his unpublished compositions from oblivion1 and his view must be pronounced perfectly satisfactory4 ,she was ,maria d',aragona1 ,marchioness del ,vasto1 whose husband1 the ,marquis del ,vasto1 a celebrated general of ,spanish descent1 famous as ,charles the ,fifth's right hand in his successful expedition against ,tunis1 and at one time governor of the ,milanese1 was as remarkable for his jealousy as the lady1 grand-daughter of a ,king of ,naples1 was for her pride and haughtiness4 ,fiorentino proves his case by showing how well all personal allusions in ,tansillo's poems1 so far as they can be traced1 agree with the circumstances of the ,marchioness1 and in particular that the latter is represented as at one time residing on the island of ,ischia1 where del ,vasto was accustomed to deposit his wife for security1 when absent on his campaigns4 ,he is apparently not aware that the object of ,tansillo's affection had already been identified with a member of the house of ,aragon by ,faria e ,sousa1 the ,portuguese editor of ,camons1 who1 in his commentary on ,camons's sixty-ninth sonnet1 gives an interminable catalogue of ladies celebrated by enamoured poets1 and says1 ,tansillo sang ,donna ,isabel de ,aragon4 ,this lady1 however1 the niece of the ,marchioness del ,vasto1 was a little girl in ,tansillo's time1 and is only mentioned by him as inconsolable for the death of a favourite dwarf4 ,the sentiment1 therefore1 of the two sonnets of ,tansillo which we have quoted1 is sufficiently justified by the exalted station of the lady who had inspired his passion1 and the risk he ran from the power and jealousy of her husband4 ,it seems certain1 however1 that the ,marquis had on his part no ground for apprehension4 ,maria d',aragona does not seem to have had much heart to bestow upon anyone1 and would1 in any case1 have disdained to bestow what heart she had upon a poor gentleman and retainer of ,don ,garcia de ,toledo1 son of the ,viceroy of ,naples4 ,she would think that she honoured him beyond his deserts by accepting his poetical homage4 ,tansillo1 on his part1 says in one of his sonnets that his devotion is purely platonic2 it might have been more ardent1 he hints1 but he is dazzled by the splendour of the light he contemplates1 and intimidated by the richness of the band by which he is led4 ,so it may have been at first1 but as time wore on the poet naturally craved some proof that his lady was not entirely indifferent to him1 and did not tolerate him merely for the sake of his verses4 ,this1 in the nature of things1 could not be given2 and the poet's raptures pass into doubt and suspicion1 thence into despairing resignation2 thence into resentment and open hostility1 terminating in a cold reconciliation1 leaving him free to marry a much humbler but probably a more affectionate person1 to whom he addresses no impassioned sonnets1 but whom he instructs in a very elegant poem 7,la ,balia7 how to bring up her infant children4 ,these varying affections are depicted with extreme liveliness in a series of sonnets1 of which we propose to offer some translated specimens4 ,the order will not be that of the editions of ,tansillo1 where the pieces are distributed at random1 but the probable order of composition1 as indicated by the nature of the feeling expressed4 ,it is1 of course1 impossible to give more than a few examples1 though most deserve to be reproduced4 ,tansillo had the advantage over most ,italian poets of his time of being in love with a real woman2 hence1 though possibly inferior in style and diction to such artists in rhyme as ,bembo or ,molza1 he greatly surpasses them in all the qualities that discriminate poetry from the accomplishment of verse4 ,the first sonnet which we shall give is still all fire and rapture3-- ,i ,lady1 the heart that entered through your eyes ,returneth not4 ,well may he make delay1 ,for if the very windows that display ,your spirit1 sparkle in such wondrous wise1 ,of her enthroned within this ,paradise ,what shall be deemed8 ,if heart for ever stay1 ,small wonder1 dazzled by more radiant day ,than gazers from without can recognise4 ,glory of sun and moon and silver star ,in firmament above1 are these not sign ,of things within more excellent by far8 ,rejoice then in thy kingdom1 heart of mine1 ,while ,love and ,fortune favourable are1 ,nor thou yet exiled for default of thine4 ,although1 however1 ,tansillo's heart might well remain with its lady1 ,tansillo's person was necessitated to join the frequent maritime expeditions of the great nobleman to whom he was attached1 ,don ,garcia de ,toledo1 against the ,turks4 ,the constant free-booting of the ,turkish and ,barbary rovers kept the ,mediterranean in a state of commotion comparable to that of the ,spanish ,main in the succeeding age1 and these expeditions1 whose picturesque history remains to be written1 were no doubt very interesting2 though from a philosophical point of view it is impossible not to sympathise with the humane and generous poet when he inquires3-- ,che il ,turco nasca turco1 e 'l ,moro moro1 giusta causa questa1 ond'altri ed io ,dobbiam incrudelir nel sangue loro8 ,with such feelings it may well be believed that in his enforced absence he was thinking at least as much of love as of war1 and that the following sonnet is as truthful as it is an animated picture of his feelings3-- ,,ii ,no length of banishment did e'er remove ,my heart from you1 nor if by ,fortune sped ,i roam the azure waters1 or the ,red1 ,e'er with the body shall the spirit rove3 ,if by each drop of every wave we clove1 ,or by ,sun's light or ,moon's encompassd1 ,another ,venus were engenderd1 ,and each were pregnant with another ,love3 ,and thus new shapes of ,love where'er we went ,started to life at every stroke of oar1 ,and each were cradled in an amorous thought2 ,not more than now this spirit should adore2 ,that none the less doth constantly lament ,it cannot worship as it would and ought4 ,before long1 however1 the pangs of separation overcome this elation of spirit1 while he is not yet afraid of being forgotten3-- ,,iii ,like lightning shining forth from east to west1 ,hurled are the happy hours from morn to night1 ,and leave the spirit steeped in undelight ,in like proportion as themselves were blest4 ,slow move sad hours1 by thousand curbs opprest1 ,wherewith the churlish ,fates delay their flight2 ,those1 impulses of ,mercury incite1 ,these lag at the ,saturnian star's behest4 ,while thou wert near1 ere separation's grief ,smote me1 like steeds contending in the race1 ,my days and nights with equal speed did run3 ,now broken either wheel1 not swift the pace ,of summer's night though summer's moon be brief2 ,or wintry days for brevity of sun4 ,,iv ,now that the ,sun hath borne with him the day1 ,and haled dark ,night from prison subterrene1 ,come forth1 fair ,moon1 and1 robed in light serene1 ,with thy own loveliness the world array4 ,heaven's spheres1 slow wheeled on their majestic way1 ,invoke as they revolve thy orb unseen1 ,and all the pageant of the starry scene1 ,wronged by thy absence1 chides at thy delay4 ,shades even as splendours1 earth and heaven both ,smile at the apparition of thy face1 ,and my own gloom no longer seems so loth2 ,yet1 while my eye regards thee1 thought doth trace ,another's image2 if in vows be troth1 ,i am not yet estranged from ,love's embrace4 ,continual separation1 however1 and the absence of any marked token that he is borne in memory1 necessarily prey more and more on the sensitive spirit of the poet4 ,during the first part1 her husband's tenure of office as ,governor of the ,milanese1 the ,marchioness1 as already mentioned1 took up her residence in the island of ,ischia1 where she received her adorer's eloquent aspirations for her welfare--heartfelt1 but so worded as to convey a reproach3 ,v ,that this fair isle with all delight abound1 ,clad be it ever in sky's smile serene1 ,no thundering billow boom from deeps marine1 ,and calm with ,neptune and his folk be found4 ,fast may all winds by olus be bound1 ,save faintest breath of lispings ,zephyrene2 ,and be the odorous earth with glowing green ,of gladsome herbs1 bright flowers1 quaint foliage crowned4 ,all ire1 all tempest1 all misfortune be ,heaped on my head1 lest aught thy pleasure stain1 ,nor this disturbed by any thought of me1 ,so scourged with ills' innumerable train1 ,new grief new tear begetteth not1 as sea ,chafes not the more for deluge of the rain4 ,the quaint foliage is in the original ,arab leaves1 arabe frondi1 an interesting proof of the cultivation of exotic plants at the period4 ,the lady rejoins her husband at ,milan1 and ,tansillo1 landing on the ,campanian coast1 lately devastated by earthquakes and eruptions1 finds everywhere the image of his own bosom1 and rejoices at the opportunity which yawning rifts and chasms of earth afford for an appeal to the infernal powers3-- ,,vi ,wild precipice and earthquake-riven wall2 ,bare jagged lava naked to the sky2 ,whence densely struggles up and slow floats by ,heaven's murky shroud of smoke funereal2 ,horror whereby the silent groves enthral2 ,black weedy pit and rifted cavity2 ,bleak loneliness whose drear sterility ,doth prowling creatures of the wild appal3 ,like one distraught who doth his woe deplore1 ,bereft of sense by thousand miseries1 ,as passion prompts1 companioned or alone2 ,your desert so ,i rove2 if as before ,heaven deaf continue1 through these crevices1 ,my cry shall pierce to the ,avernian throne4 ,the poet's melancholy deepens1 and he enters upon the stage of dismal and hopeless resignation to the inevitable3 ,,vii ,as one who on uneasy couch bewails ,besetting sickness and ,time's tardy course1 ,proving if drug1 or gem1 or charm have force ,to conquer the dire evil that assails3 ,but when at last no remedy prevails1 ,and bankrupt ,art stands empty of resource1 ,beholds ,death in the face1 and scorns recourse ,to skill whose impotence in nought avails4 ,so ,i1 who long have borne in trust unspent ,that distance1 indignation1 reason1 strife ,with ,fate would heal my malady1 repent1 ,frustrate all hopes wherewith my soul was rife1 ,and yield unto my destiny1 content ,to languish for the little left of life4 ,a lower depth still has to be reached ere the period of salutary and defiant reaction3-- ,,viii ,so mightily abound the hosts of ,pain1 ,whom sentries of my bosom ,love hath made1 ,no space is left to enter or evade1 ,and inwardly expire sighs born in vain1 ,if any pleasure mingle with the train1 ,by the first glimpse of my poor heart dismayed1 ,instant he dies1 or else1 in bondage stayed1 ,pines languishing1 or flies that drear domain4 ,pale semblances of terror keep the keys1 ,of frowning portals they for none displace ,save messengers of novel miseries3 ,all thoughts they scare that wear a gladsome face2 ,and1 were they anything but ,miseries1 ,themselves would hasten from the gloomy place4 ,slighted love easily passes from rejection into rebellion1 and we shall see that such was the case with ,tansillo4 ,the following sonnet denotes an intermediate stage1 when resignation is almost renunciation1 but has not yet become revolt3-- ,,ix ,cease thy accustomed strain1 my mournful lute2 ,new music find1 fit for my lot forlorn2 ,henceforth be ,wrath and ,grief resounded1 torn ,the strings that anciently did ,love salute1 ,not on my own weak wing irresolute ,but on ,love's plumes ,i trusted to be borne1 ,chanting him far as that remotest bourne ,whence strength ,herculean reft ,hesperian fruit4 ,to such ambition was my spirit wrought ,by gracious guerdon ,love came offering ,when free in air my thought was bold to range3 ,but otherwhere now dwells another's thought1 ,and ,wrath has plucked ,love's feather from my wing1 ,and hope1 style1 theme1 ,i all alike must change4 ,this1 however1 is not a point at which continuance is possible1 the mind must go either backward or forward4 ,the lover for a time persuades himself that he has broken his mistress's yoke1 and that his infatuation is entirely a thing of the past4 ,but the poet1 like the lady1 protests too much3-- ,x ,if ,love was miser of my liberty1 ,lo1 ,scorn is bounteous and benevolent1 ,such scope permitting1 that1 my fetter rent1 ,not lengthened by my hand1 ,i wander free4 ,the eyes that yielded tears continually ,have now with ,lethe's drops my fire besprent1 ,and more behold1 ,illusion's glamour spent1 ,than fabled ,argus with his century4 ,the tyrant of my spirit1 left forlorn ,as vassal thoughts forsake him1 doth remove1 ,and back unto her throne is ,reason borne1 ,and ,i my metamorphosis approve1 ,and1 old strains tuning to new keys1 of ,scorn ,will sing as anciently ,i sang of ,love4 ,several solutions of this situation are conceivable4 ,tansillo's is that which was perhaps that most likely in the case of an emotional nature1 where the feelings are more powerful than the will4 ,he simply surrenders at discretion1 retracts everything disparaging that he has said of the lady 7taking care1 however1 not to burn the peccant verses1 which are much too good to be lightly parted with71 and professes himself her humble slave upon her own terms3-- ,,xi ,all bitter words ,i spoke of you while yet ,my heart was sore1 and every virgin scroll ,blackened with ire1 now past from my control1 ,these would ,i now recall2 for 'tis most fit ,my style should change1 now ,reason doth reknit1 ,ties ,passion sundered1 and again make whole2 ,be then ,oblivion's prey whate'er my soul ,hath wrongly of thee thought1 spoke1 sung1 or writ4 ,not1 ,lady1 that impeachment of thy fame ,with tongue or pen ,i ever did design2 ,but that1 if unto these shall reach my name1 ,ages to come may study in my line ,how year by year more streamed and towered my flame1 ,and how ,i living was and dying thine4 ,there is no reason to doubt the perfect sincerity of these lines at the period of their composition2 but ,tansillo's mistress had apparently resolved that his attachment should not henceforth have the diet even of a chameleon2 and it is small wonder to find him shortly afterwards a tender husband and father1 lamenting the death of an infant son in strains of extreme pathos1 and instructing his wife on certain details of domestic economy in which she might have been supposed to be better versed than himself4 ,his marriage took place in #aeej1 and in one of his sonnets he says that his unhappy attachment had endured sixteen years1 which1 allowing for a decent interval between the ,romeo and the ,benedict1 would date its commencement at #aecb or #aecc4 ,maria d',aragona died on ,november #i1 #aefh1 and ,tansillo1 whose services had been rewarded by a judicial appointment in the kingdom of ,naples1 followed her to the tomb on ,december #a4 ,if her death is really the subject of the two poems in terza rima which appear to deplore it1 he certainly lost no time in bewailing her1 but the interval is so brief1 and the poems are so weak1 that they may have been composed on some other occasion4 ,with respect to the latter consideration1 however1 it must be remembered that he was himself1 in all probability1 suffering from disabling sickness1 having made his will on ,november #bi4 ,it is also worthy of note that the first sonnets composed by ,petrarch upon the death of ,laura are in general much inferior in depth of tenderness to those written years after the event4 ,in ,memoriam is another proof that the adequate poetical expression of grief1 unlike that of life1 requires time and study4 ,tansillo1 then1 may not have been so completely disillusioned as his editor thinks4 ,if the poems do not relate to ,maria d',aragona1 we have no clue to the ultimate nature of his feelings towards her4 ,a generally fair estimate of ,tansillo's rank as a poet is given in ,gingun's ,history of ,italian ,literature1 vol4 ix41 pp4 #cdj-cdc4 ,it can scarcely be admitted that his boldness and fertility of imagination transported him beyond the limits of lyric poetry--for this is hardly possible--but it is true that they sometimes transcended the limits of good taste1 and that the germs may be found in him of the extravagance which so disfigured ,italian poetry in the seventeenth century4 ,on the other hand1 he has the inestimable advantage over most ,italian poets of his day of writing of genuine passion from genuine experience4 ,hence a truth and vigour preferable even to the exquisite elegance of his countryman1 ,angelo di ,costanzo1 and much more so to the mere amatory exercises of other contemporaries4 ,after ,michael ,angelo he stands farther aloof than any contemporary from ,petrarch1 a merit in an age when the study of ,petrarch had degenerated into slavish imitation4 ,his faults as a lyrist are absent from his didactic poems1 which are models of taste and elegance4 ,his one unpardonable sin is want of patriotism2 he is the dependant and panegyrist of the foreign conqueror1 and seems equally unconscious of the past glories1 the actual degradation1 or the prospective regeneration of ,italy4 ,born a ,spanish subject1 his ideal of loyalty was entirely misplaced1 and he must not be severely censured for what he could hardly avoid4 ,but ,italy lost a ,tyrtus in him4 ,a ,book ,plate for ,j4 ,l4 ,propert1 ,esq4 ,by ,aubrey ,beardsley ,a ,book ,plate for ,major-,general ,gosset ,by ,r4 ,anning ,bell ,reproduced by ,messrs4 ,carl ,hentschel ,co4 ,illustration3 ,book ,plate for ,j4 ,l4 ,propert ,illustration3 ,book ,plate for ,major-,general ,gosset ,the ,fool's ,hour ,the ,first ,act of a ,comedy ,by ,john ,oliver ,hobbes and ,george ,moore ,,characters ,,of ,,the ,,comedy ,lord ,doldrummond ,cyril1 his ,son 7,viscount ,aprile7 ,sir ,digby ,soame ,charles ,mandeville1 a tenor ,mr4 ,banish1 a banker ,the ,hon4 ,arthur ,featherleigh ,mr4 ,samuel ,benjamin1 a money-lender ,lady ,doldrummond ,julia1 an heiress ,the ,hon4 ,mrs4 ,howard de ,trappe1 her mother1 a widow ,sarah ,sparrow1 an ,american prima donna ,act ,i ,scene--,the ,library in ,lord ,doldrummond's house at ,brighton4 ,the scene represents a richly-furnished but somewhat oppressive room4 ,the chairs and tables are all narrow1 the lamp-shades stiff1 the windows have double glasses4 ,lord ,doldrummond1 a man of middle-age1 handsome1 but with a dejected1 browbeaten air1 sits with a rug over his knees1 reading ,the ,church ,times4 ,the ,butler announces ,sir ,digby ,soame4 ,sir ,digby is thin and elderly2 has an easy smile and a sharp eye2 dresses well2 has two manners--the abrupt with men1 the suave with women2 smiles into his beard over his own witticisms4 ,lord ,dol4 ,ah1 ,soame1 so you are here at last8 ,soame4 ,looking at his watch4 ,i am pretty punctual1 only a few minutes late4 ,lord ,dol4 ,i am worried1 anxious1 irritable1 and that has made the time seem long4 ,soame4 ,worried1 anxious8 ,and what about8 ,are you not well8 ,have you found that regularity of life ruins the constitution8 ,lord ,dol4 ,no1 my dear ,soame1 no4 ,but ,i am willing to own that the existence which my wife enjoys1 and which ,i have learnt to endure1 would not suit everyone4 ,soame4 ,i am glad to find you more tolerant4 ,you used to hold the very harshest and most crude opinions4 ,i remember when we were boys1 ,i could never persuade you to accept the admirable doctrine that a reformed rake makes the best husband6 ,lord ,dol4 ,timidly4 ,repentance does not require so large an income as folly6 ,this may explain that paradox4 ,you know1 in my way1 ,i1 too1 am something of a philosopher6 ,i married very young1 whereas you entered the ,diplomatic ,service and resolved to remain single3 you wished to study women4 ,i have lived with one for five-and-twenty years4 ,sighs4 ,soame4 ,oh1 ,i admit at once that yours is the greater achievement and was the more daring ambition4 ,lord ,dol4 ,i know all ,i wish to know about women1 but men puzzle me extremely4 ,so ,i have sent for you4 ,i want your advice4 ,it is ,cyril who is the cause of my uneasiness4 ,i am afraid that he is not happy4 ,soame4 ,cyril not happy8 ,what is he unhappy about8 ,you have never refused him anything8 ,lord ,dol4 ,never6 ,no man has had a kinder father6 ,when he is unreasonable ,i merely say ,you are a fool1 but please yourself6 ,no man has had a kinder father6 ,soame4 ,does he complain8 ,lord ,dol4 ,he has hinted that his home is uncongenial--yet we have an excellent cook6 ,ah1 thank heaven every night and morning1 my dear ,digby1 that you are a bachelor4 ,praying for sinners and breeding them would seem the whole duty of man4 ,i was no sooner born than my parents were filled with uneasiness lest ,i should not live to marry and beget an heir of my own4 ,now ,i have an heir1 his mother will never know peace until she has found him a wife6 ,soame4 ,and will you permit ,lady ,doldrummond to use the same method with ,cyril which your mother adopted with such appalling results in your own case8 ,lord ,dol4 ,it does not seem my place to interfere1 and love-affairs are not a fit subject of conversation between father and son6 ,soame4 ,but what does ,cyril say to the matrimonial prospect8 ,lord ,dol4 ,he seems melancholy and eats nothing but oranges4 ,yes1 ,cyril is a source of great uneasiness4 ,soame4 ,does ,lady ,doldrummond share this uneasiness8 ,lord ,dol4 ,my wife would regard a second thought on any subject as a most dangerous form of temptation4 ,she insists that ,cyril has everything which a young man could desire1 and when he complains that the house is dull1 she takes him for a drive6 ,soame4 ,but you understand him8 ,lord ,dol4 ,i think ,i do4 ,if ,i were young again---- ,soame4 ,ah1 you regret6 ,i always said you would regret it if you did not take your fling6 ,the pleasures we imagine are so much more alluring1 so much more dangerous1 than those we experience4 ,i suppose you recognise in ,cyril the rascal you might have been1 and feel that you have missed your vocation8 ,lord ,dol4 ,meekly4 ,i was never unruly1 my dear ,soame4 ,we all have our moments1 ,i own1 yet--well1 perhaps ,cyril has inherited the tastes which ,i possessed at his age1 but lacked the courage to obey4 ,soame4 ,and so you wish me to advise you how to deal with him6 ,is he in love8 ,i have constantly observed that when young men find their homes unsympathetic1 it is because some particular lady does not form a member of the household4 ,it is usually a lady1 too1 who would not be considered a convenient addition to any mother's visiting-list6 ,lord ,dol4 ,lady ,doldrummond has taught him that women are the scourges of creation4 ,you1 perhaps1 do not share that view6 ,soame4 ,certainly not4 ,i would teach him to regard them as the reward1 the compensation1 the sole delight of this dreariest of all possible worlds4 ,lord ,dol4 ,uneasily4 ,reward6 ,compensation6 ,delight6 ,i beg you will not go so far as that4 ,what notion would be more upsetting8 ,pray do not use such extreme terms6 ,soame4 ,ha6 ha6 ,but tell me1 ,doldrummond1 is it true that your wife insists on his retiring at eleven and rising at eight8 ,i hear that she allows him nothing stronger than ginger ale and lemon2 that she selects his friends1 makes his engagements1 and superintends his amusements8 ,should he marry1 ,i am told she will even undertake the office of best man6 ,lord ,dol4 ,poor soul6 she means well2 and if devotion could make the boy a saint he would have been in heaven before he was out of his long clothes4 ,as it is1 ,i fear that nothing can save him4 ,soame4 ,save him8 ,you speak as though you suspected that he was not such a saint as his mother thinks him4 ,lord ,dol4 ,i suspect nothing4 ,i only know that my boy is unhappy4 ,you might speak to him1 and draw him out if occasion should offer--but do not say a word about this to ,lady ,doldrummond4 ,enter ,lady ,doldrummond4--,she is a tall1 slight1 but not angular woman4 ,her hair is brown1 and brushed back from her temples in the simplest possible fashion4 ,self-satisfaction 7of a gentle and ladylike sort7 and eminent contentment with her lot are the only writings on her smooth1 almost girlish countenance4 ,she has a prim tenderness and charm of manner which soften her rather cutting voice4 ,lady ,dol4 ,what6 ,cyril not here8 ,how do you do1 ,sir ,digby8 ,i am looking for my tiresome boy4 ,i promised to take him to pay some calls this afternoon1 and as he may have to talk ,i must tell him what to say4 ,he has no idea of making himself pleasant to women1 and is the shyest creature in the world6 ,soame4 ,you have always been so careful to shield him from all responsibility1 ,lady ,doldrummond4 ,who knows what eloquence1 what decision1 what energy he might display1 if you did not possess these gifts in so pre-eminent a degree as to make any exertion on his part unnecessary1 and perhaps disrespectful4 ,lady ,dol4 ,ah6 mothers are going out of fashion4 ,even ,cyril occasionally shows a certain impatience when ,i venture to correct him4 ,as if ,i would hurt anyone's feelings unless from a sense of duty6 ,and pray1 where is the pleasure of having a son if you may not direct his life8 ,lord ,dol4 ,cyril might ask1 where is the pleasure of having parents if you may not disobey them4 ,lady ,dol4 ,to ,soame4 ,when ,herbert is alone with me he never makes flippant remarks of this kind4 ,to ,lord ,doldrummond4 ,i wonder that you like to give your friends such a wrong impression of your character4 ,turning to ,sir ,digby4 ,but ,i think ,i see your drift1 ,sir ,digby4 ,you wish to remind me that ,cyril is now at an age when ,i must naturally desire to see him established in a home of his own4 ,soame4 ,you have caught my meaning4 ,as he is now two-and-twenty1 ,i think he should be allowed more freedom than may have been expedient when he was--say1 six months old4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i quite agree with you1 and ,i trust you will convince ,herbert that women understand young men far better than their fathers ever could4 ,i have found the very wife for ,cyril1 and ,i hope ,i may soon have the pleasure of welcoming her as a daughter4 ,soame4 ,a wife6 ,good heavens6 ,i was suggesting that the boy had more liberty4 ,marriage is the prison of all emotions1 and ,i should be very sorry to ask any young girl to be a man's gaol-keeper4 ,lord ,dol4 ,sir ,digby is right4 ,lady ,dol4 ,the presence of a third person has the strangest effect on ,herbert's moral vision4 ,as ,i have trained my son with a care and tenderness rarely bestowed nowadays even on a girl1 ,i think ,i may show some resentment when ,i am asked to believe him a being with the instincts of a ruffian and the philosophy of a middle-aged bachelor4 ,no1 ,sir ,digby1 ,cyril is not my child if he does not make his home and his family the happiest in the world6 ,soame4 ,yes8 ,lady ,dol4 ,he has no taste for cards1 horses1 brandy1 or actresses4 ,we read together1 walk together1 and drive together4 ,in the evening1 if he is too tired to engage in conversation1 ,i play the piano while he dozes4 ,lately he has taken a particular interest in ,mozart's classic light opera4 ,any interest of that kind is so elevating1 and ,i know of nothing more agreeable than a musical husband4 ,lord ,dol4 ,you see she is resolved on his marriage1 and she has had ,julia de ,trappe on a visit with us for the last five weeks in the hope of bringing matters to a crisis4 ,lady ,dol4 ,and why not8 ,our marriage was arranged for us1 and what idle fancies of our own could have led to such perfect contentment8 ,lord ,doldrummund avoids her eyes4 ,soame4 ,julia de ,trappe8 ,she must be the daughter of that ,mrs4 ,howard de ,trappe who gives large ,at ,homes in a small house1 and who spends her time hunting for old lovers and new servants4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i own that dear ,julia has been allowed to meet men and women who are not fit companions for a young girl1 no matter how interesting they may be to the general public4 ,only yesterday she told me she was well acquainted with ,mr4 ,mandeville1 the tenor4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe1 it seems1 frequently invites him to dinner4 ,still1 ,julia herself is very sensible1 and the family is of extraordinary antiquity4 ,soame4 ,but the mother8 ,if she has not been in the divorce court1 it is through no fault of her own4 ,lady ,dol4 ,biting her lip4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe is vain and silly1 ,i admit2 but as she has at last decided to marry ,mr4 ,banish1 the banker1 ,i am hoping she will live in his house at ,hampstead1 and think a little more about her immortal soul4 ,soame4 ,does ,cyril seem at all interested in ,miss ,julia8 ,lady ,dol4 ,cyril has great elegance of mind1 and is not very strong in the expression of his feelings one way or the other4 ,but ,i may say that a deep attachment exists between them4 ,soame4 ,a man must have sound wisdom before he can appreciate innocence4 ,but ,i have no desire to be discouraging1 and ,i hope ,i may soon have the pleasure of congratulating you all on the wedding4 ,good-bye4 ,lord ,dol4 ,what6 ,must you go8 ,soame4 ,yes4 ,but aside to ,lord ,dol4 ,i shall bear in mind what you say4 ,i will do my best4 ,i have an engagement in town to-night4 ,chuckles4 ,an amusing one4 ,lord ,dol4 ,with envy4 ,where8 ,soame4 ,at the ,parnassus4 ,lady ,dol4 ,with a supercilious smile4 ,and what is the ,parnassus8 ,soame4 ,a theatre much favoured by young men who wish to be thought wicked1 and by young ladies who are4 ,good-bye1 good-bye4 ,shakes hands with ,lord and ,lady ,doldrummond and goes out4 ,lady ,dol4 ,thank goodness1 he is gone6 ,what a terrible example for ,cyril4 ,i was on thorns every second lest he should come in4 ,soame has just those meretricious attractions which appeal to youth and inexperience4 ,that you should encourage such an acquaintance1 and even discuss before him such an intimate matter as my hope with regard to ,julia1 is1 perhaps1 more painful than astonishing4 ,lord ,dol4 ,they are both too young to marry4 ,let them enjoy life while they may4 ,lady ,dol4 ,enjoy life8 ,what a degrading suggestion6 ,i have often observed that there is a lurking taste for the vicious in every ,doldrummond4 ,picking up ,cyril's miniature from the table4 ,cyril is pure ,bedingfield3 my second self6 ,the ,butler announces ,mrs4 ,de ,trappe1 ,mr4 ,arthur ,featherleigh1 ,mr4 ,banish4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe is a pretty woman with big eyes and a small waist2 she has a trick of biting her under-lip1 and looking shocked1 as it were1 at her own audacity4 ,her manner is a little effusive1 but always well-bred4 ,she does not seem affected1 and has something artless1 confiding1 and pathetic4 ,mr4 ,featherleigh has a nervous laugh and a gentlemanly appearance2 otherwise inscrutable4 ,mr4 ,banish is old1 well-preserved1 rather pompous1 and evidently mistakes deportment for dignity4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,kissing ,lady ,dol4 on each cheek4 ,dear ,edith1 ,i knew we should surprise you4 ,but ,mr4 ,banish and ,i are house-hunting1 and ,i thought ,i must run in and see you and ,julia1 if only for a second4 ,i felt sure you would not mind my bringing ,arthur indicating ,featherleigh4 ,he is so lonely at the prospect of my marriage that ,mr4 ,banish and ,i have promised to keep him always with us4 ,we have known each other so long4 ,how should we spend our evenings without him8 ,james admits they would be tedious1 don't you1 ,james8 ,indicating ,banish4 ,banish4 ,certainly1 my dear4 ,lady ,dol4 ,stiffly4 ,i can well understand that you have learned to regard ,mr4 ,featherleigh as your own son4 ,and as we advance in years1 it is so pleasant to have young people about us4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,after a slight pause4 ,how odd that it should never have struck me in that light before6 ,i have always thought of ,arthur as the trustee1 as it were1 of my poor fatherless ,julia ,to ,banish4 ,have ,i not often said so1 ,james8 ,banish4 ,dryly4 ,often4 ,in fact ,i have always thought that ,julia would never lack a father whilst ,arthur was alive4 ,but ,i admit that he is a little young for the responsibility4 ,feather4 ,unmoved4 ,do not forget1 ,violet1 that our train leaves in fifty-five minutes4 ,lord ,dol4 ,catching a desperate glance from ,lady ,doldrummond4 ,then ,i shall have time to show you the ,russian poodles which the ,duke of ,camdem brought me from ,japan4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,peevishly4 ,yes1 please take them away4 ,waving her hand in the direction of ,banish and ,featherleigh4 ,edith and ,i have many secrets to discuss4 ,of course she will tell you to ,lord ,dol4 everything ,i have said when we are gone1 and ,i shall tell ,arthur and ,james all she has said as we go home4 ,but it is so amusing to think ourselves mysterious for twenty minutes4 ,as the men go out laughing1 she turns to ,lady ,doldrummond with a sigh4 ,ah1 ,edith1 when ,i pause in all these gaieties and say to myself1 ,violet1 you are about to marry a second husband1 ,i cannot feel sufficiently thankful that it is not the third4 ,lady ,dol4 ,the third8 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,to face the possibility of a third honeymoon1 a third disappointment1 and a third funeral would tax my courage to the utmost6 ,and ,i am not strong4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i am shocked to see you so despondent4 ,surely you anticipate every happiness with ,mr4 ,banish8 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,oh1 yes4 ,he has money1 and ,arthur thinks him a very worthy sort of person4 ,he is a little dull1 but then middle-class people are always so gross in their air when they attempt to be lively or amusing2 so long as they are grave ,i can bear them well enough1 but ,i know of nothing so unpleasant as the sight of a banker laughing4 ,as ,arthur says1 ,city men and butlers should always be serious4 ,lady ,dol4 ,do you think that the world will quite understand--,arthur8 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,what do you mean1 ,edith8 ,a woman must have an adviser4 ,arthur was my late husband's friend1 and he is my future husband's friend4 ,surely that should be enough to satisfy the most exacting4 ,lady ,dol4 ,but why marry at all8 why not remain as you are8 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,how unreasonable you are1 ,edith6 ,how often have you urged me to marry ,mr4 ,banish1 and now that it is all arranged and ,arthur is satisfied1 you begin to object4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i thought that you liked ,mr4 ,banish better4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,better than ,arthur8 ,no1 ,i am not so unkind as that1 nor would ,james wish it4 ,i am marrying because ,i am poor4 ,my husband1 as you know1 left nearly all his money to ,julia1 and ,i feel the injustice so acutely that the absurd settlement he made on me is spent upon doctor's bills alone4 ,if it were not for ,arthur and one or two other kind friends who send me game and other little things from time to time1 ,i could not exist at all4 ,draws off her gloves1 displays a diamond ring on each finger1 and wipes her eyes with a point-lace pocket-handkerchief4 ,and when ,i think of all that ,i endured with ,de ,trappe6 ,how often have ,i been roused from a sound sleep to see the room illuminated and ,de ,trappe1 rolled up in flannel1 sitting by the fire reading ,lead1 kindly ,light4 ,what an existence6 ,but now tell me about ,julia4 ,i hope she does not give you much trouble4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i only hope that ,i may keep her always with me4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,how she must have improved6 ,when she is at home ,i find her so depressing4 ,and she does not appeal to men in the least4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i could wish that all young girls were as modest4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,oh1 ,i daresay ,julia has all the qualities we like to see in some other woman's daughter4 ,but if you were her mother and had to find her a husband1 you would regard her virtues in another light4 ,fortunately she has eight thousand a year1 so she may be able to find somebody4 ,still1 even money does not tempt men as it once did4 ,a girl must have an extraordinary charm4 ,she is so jealous of me4 ,i cannot keep her out of the drawing-room when ,i have got callers1 especially when ,mr4 ,mandeville is there4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i have heard of ,mr4 ,mandeville4 ,he is an actor1 a singer4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,a lovely tenor voice4 ,all the women are in love with him1 except me4 ,i would not listen to him4 ,and now they say he is going to marry ,sarah ,sparrow--a great mistake4 ,i should like to know who would care about him or his singing1 once he is married4 ,lady ,dol4 ,and who is ,sarah ,sparrow8 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,don't you know8 ,she is the last great success4 ,she has two notes3 ,b flat and the lower ,g--the orchestra plays the rest4 ,you must go to the ,parnassus and hear her4 ,to-night is the dress rehearsal of the new piece4 ,lady ,dol4 ,and do you receive ,miss ,sparrow8 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,no1 women take up too much time4 ,they say1 too1 that she is frantically jealous because ,mandeville used to come and practise in my boudoir4 ,he says no one can accompany him as ,i do6 ,lady ,dol4 ,i hope ,cyril does not meet ,mr4 ,mandeville when he goes to your house4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,let me see4 ,i believe ,i introduced them4 ,at any rate1 ,i know ,i saw them at luncheon together last week4 ,lady ,dol4 ,at luncheon together6 ,cyril and this person who sings8 ,what could my boy and ,mr4 ,mandeville have in common8 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,they both appear to admire ,sarah ,sparrow very much4 ,and ,i cannot find what men see in her4 ,she is not tall and her figure is most innocent2 you would say she was still in pinafores4 ,as for her prettiness1 ,i admit she has fine eyes1 but of course she blackens them4 ,i think the great attraction is her atrocious temper4 ,one never knows whom she will stab next4 ,lady ,dol4 ,half to herself4 ,last week ,cyril came in after midnight4 ,he refused to answer my questions4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,you seem absent-minded1 my dear ,edith4 ,pause4 ,i must be going now4 ,where are ,arthur and ,james8 ,we have not a moment to lose4 ,we are going to choose wedding presents4 ,james is going to choose ,arthur's and ,arthur is going to choose ,james's1 so there can be no jealousy4 ,it was ,i who thought of that way out of the difficulty4 ,one does one's best to be nice to them1 and then something happens and upsets all one's plans4 ,where is ,cyril8 ,lady ,dol4 ,i am afraid ,cyril is not at home4 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,then ,i shall not see him4 ,tell him ,i am angry1 and give my love to ,julia4 ,i hope she does not disturb you when you are in the drawing-room and have visitors4 ,so difficult to keep a grown-up girl out of the drawing-room4 ,where can those men be8 ,enter ,lord ,doldrummond1 ,mr4 ,featherleigh1 and ,mr4 ,banish4 ,ah6 here they are4 ,now1 come along2 we haven't a moment to lose4 ,good-bye1 ,edith4 ,exeunt 7after wishing their adieux7 ,mrs4 de ,trappe1 ,mr4 ,featherleigh1 and ,mr4 ,banish1 ,lord ,doldrummond following them4 ,lady ,dol4 ,stands alone in the middle of the room1 repeating4 ,cyril and--,sarah ,sparrow6 ,my son and ,sarah ,sparrow6 ,and he has met her through the one woman for whom ,i have been wrong enough to forget my prejudices4 ,what a punishment6 ,julia enters cautiously4 ,she is so unusually beautiful that she barely escapes the terrible charge of sublimity4 ,but there is a certain peevishness in her expression which adds a comfortable smack of human nature to her classic features4 ,julia4 ,i thought mamma would never go4 ,i have been hiding in your boudoir ever since ,i heard she was here4 ,lady ,dol4 ,was ,cyril with you8 ,julia4 ,oh1 no2 he has gone out for a walk4 ,lady ,dol4 ,tell me1 dearest1 have you and ,cyril had any disagreement lately8 ,is there any misunderstanding8 ,julia4 ,oh1 no4 ,sighs4 ,lady ,dol4 ,i remember quite well that before ,i married ,herbert he often suffered from the oddest moods of depression4 ,several times he entreated me to break off the engagement4 ,his affection was so reverential that he feared he was not worthy of me4 ,i assure you ,i had the greatest difficulty in overcoming his scruples1 and persuading him that whatever his faults were ,i could help him to subdue them4 ,julia4 ,but ,cyril and ,i are not engaged4 ,it is all so uncertain1 so humiliating4 ,lady ,dol4 ,men take these things for granted4 ,if the truth were known1 ,i daresay he already regards you as his wife4 ,julia4 ,with an inspired air4 ,perhaps that is why he treats me so unkindly4 ,i have often thought that if he were my husband he could not be more disagreeable6 ,he has not a word for me when ,i speak to him4 ,he does not hear4 ,oh1 ,lady ,doldrummond1 ,i know what is the matter4 ,he is in love1 but ,i am not the one4 ,you are all wrong4 ,lady ,dol4 ,no1 no1 no4 ,he loves you2 ,i am sure of it4 ,only be patient with him and it will come all right4 ,hush6 is that his step8 ,stay here1 darling1 and ,i will go into my room and write letters4 ,exit1 brushing the tears from her eyes4 ,butler ushers in ,mr4 ,mandeville4 ,neither of them perceive ,julia1 who has gone to the window4 ,butler4 ,his ,lordship will be down in half an hour1 sir4 ,he is now having his hair brushed4 ,julia4 ,in surprise as she looks round4 ,mr4 ,mandeville6 ,pause4 ,i hardly expected to meet you here4 ,mandeville4 ,and why1 may ,i ask8 ,julia4 ,you know what ,lady ,doldrummond is4 ,how did you overcome her scruples8 ,mandeville4 ,is my reputation then so very bad8 ,julia4 ,you--you are supposed to be rather dangerous4 ,you sing on the stage1 and have a tenor voice4 ,mandeville4 ,is that enough to make a man dangerous8 ,julia4 ,how can ,i tell8 ,but mamma said you were invincible4 ,you admire mamma1 of course4 ,sighs4 ,mandeville4 ,a charming woman1 ,mrs4 de ,trappe4 ,a very interesting woman2 so sympathetic4 ,julia4 ,but she said she would not listen to you4 ,mandeville4 ,did she say that8 ,a slight pause4 ,i hope you will not be angry when ,i own that ,i do not especially admire your mother4 ,a quarter of a century ago she may have had considerable attractions1 but--are you offended8 ,julia4 ,offended8 ,oh1 no4 ,only it seems strange4 ,i thought that all men admired mamma4 ,pause4 ,you have not told me yet how you made ,lady ,doldrummond's acquaintance4 ,mandeville4 ,i am here at ,lord ,aprile's invitation4 ,he has decided that he feels no further need of ,lady ,doldrummond's apron-strings4 ,julia4 ,oh1 ,mr4 ,mandeville1 are you teaching him to be wicked8 ,mandeville4 ,but you will agree with me that a young man cannot make his mother a kind of scribbling diary8 ,julia4 ,still1 if he spends his time well1 there does not seem to be any reason why he should refuse to say where he dines when he is not at home4 ,mandeville4 ,lady ,doldrummond holds such peculiar ideas2 she would find immorality in a sofa-cushion4 ,if she were to know that ,cyril is coming with me to the dress rehearsal of our new piece6 ,julia4 ,it would break her heart4 ,and ,lord ,doldrummond would be indignant4 ,mamma says his own morals are so excellent6 ,mandeville4 ,is he an invalid8 ,julia4 ,certainly not4 ,why do you ask8 ,mandeville4 ,whenever ,i hear of a charming husband ,i always think that he must be an invalid4 ,but as for morals1 there can be no harm in taking ,cyril to a dress rehearsal4 ,if you do not wish him to go1 however1 ,i can easily say that the manager does not care to have strangers present4 ,pause4 ,afterwards there is to be a ball at ,miss ,sparrow's4 ,julia4 ,is ,cyril going there1 too8 ,mandeville4 ,i believe that he has an invitation1 but ,i will persuade him to refuse it1 if you would prefer him to remain at home4 ,julia4 ,you are very kind1 ,mr4 ,mandeville1 but it is a matter of indifference to me where ,lord ,aprile goes4 ,mandeville4 ,perhaps ,i ought not to have mentioned this to you8 ,julia4 ,annoyed4 ,it does not make the least difference4 ,in fact1 ,i am delighted to think that you are taking ,cyril out into the world4 ,he is wretched in this house4 ,with heroism4 ,i am glad to think that he knows anyone so interesting and clever and beautiful as ,sarah ,sparrow4 ,i suppose she would be considered beautiful8 ,mandeville4 ,with a profound glance4 ,one can forget her--sometimes4 ,julia4 ,looking down4 ,perhaps--when ,i am as old as she is--,i shall be prettier than ,i am at present4 ,mandeville4 ,you always said you liked my voice4 ,we never see anything of each other now4 ,i once thought that--well--that you might like me better4 ,are you sure you are not angry with me because ,i am taking ,cyril to this rehearsal8 ,julia4 ,quite sure4 ,why should ,i care where ,cyril goes8 ,i only wish that ,i1 too1 might go to the theatre to-night4 ,what part do you play8 ,and what do you sing8 ,a serenade8 ,mandeville4 ,astounded4 ,yes4 ,how on earth did you guess that8 ,the costume is1 of course1 picturesque1 and that is the great thing in an opera4 ,a few men can sing--after a fashion--but to find the right clothes to sing in--that shows the true artist4 ,julia4 ,and ,sarah2 does she look her part8 ,mandeville4 ,well1 ,i do not like to say anything against her1 but she is not quite the person ,i should cast for la ,marquise de la ,perdrigonde4 ,ah6 if you were on the stage1 ,miss de ,trappe6 ,you have just the exquisite charm1 the grace1 the majesty of bearing which1 in the opinion of those who have never been to ,court1 is the peculiar distinction of women accustomed to the highest society4 ,julia4 ,oh1 ,i should like to be an actress6 ,mandeville4 ,no6 no6 ,i spoke selfishly--if you only acted with me1 it would be different2 but--but ,i could not bear to see another man making love to you--another man holding your hand and singing into your eyes--and--and----,oh1 this is madness4 ,you must not listen to me4 ,julia4 ,i am not--angry1 but--you must never again say things which you do not mean4 ,if ,i thought you were untruthful it would make me so--so miserable4 ,always tell me the truth4 ,holds out her hand4 ,mandeville4 ,you are very beautiful6 ,she drops her eyes1 smiles1 and wanders unconsciously to the mirror4 ,lady ,doldrummond suddenly enters from the boudoir1 and ,cyril from the middle door4 ,cyril is handsome1 but his features have that delicacy and his expression that pensiveness which promise artistic longings and domestic disappointment4 ,cyril4 ,cordially and in a state of suppressed excitement4 ,oh1 mother1 this is my friend ,mandeville4 ,you have heard me mention him8 ,lady ,dol4 ,i do not remember1 but---- ,cyril4 ,when ,i promised to go out with you this afternoon1 ,i forgot that ,i had another engagement4 ,mandeville has been kind enough to call for me4 ,lady ,dol4 ,another engagement1 ,cyril8 ,lord ,doldrummond enters and comes down1 anxiously looking from one to the other4 ,cyril4 ,father1 this is my friend ,mandeville4 ,we have arranged to go up to town this afternoon4 ,lady ,dol4 ,calmly4 ,what time shall ,i send the carriage to the station for you8 ,the last train usually arrives about---- ,cyril4 ,i shall not return to-night4 ,i intend to stay in town4 ,mandeville will put me up4 ,lord ,dol4 ,and where are you going8 ,mandeville4 ,he is coming to our dress rehearsal of the ,dandy and the ,dancer4 ,cyril4 ,at the ,parnassus4 ,lord and ,lady ,doldrummond exchange horrified glances4 ,i daresay you have never heard of the place1 but it amuses me to go there1 and ,i must learn life for myself4 ,i am two-and-twenty1 and it is not extraordinary that ,i should wish to be my own master4 ,i intend to have chambers of my own in town4 ,lady ,dol4 ,surely you have every liberty in this house8 ,lord ,dol4 ,if you leave us1 you will leave the rooms in which your mother has spent every hour of her life1 since the day you were born1 planning and improving4 ,must all her care and thought go for nothing8 ,the silk hangings in your bedroom she worked with her own hands4 ,there is not so much as a pen-wiper in your quarter of the house which she did not choose with the idea of giving you one more token of her affection4 ,cyril4 ,i am not ungrateful1 but ,i cannot see much of the world through my mother's embroidery4 ,as you say1 ,i have every comfort here4 ,i may gorge at your expense and snore on your pillows and bully your servants4 ,i can do everything1 in fact1 but live4 ,dear mother1 be reasonable4 ,tries to kiss her4 ,she remains quite frigid4 ,footman enters4 ,footman4 ,the dog-cart is at the door1 my lord4 ,cyril4 ,you think it well over and you will see that ,i am perfectly right4 ,come on1 ,mandeville1 we shall miss the train4 ,make haste3 there is no time to be polite4 ,he goes out1 dragging ,mandeville after him1 and ignoring ,julia4 ,lord ,dol4 ,was that my son8 ,i am ashamed of him6 ,to desert us in this rude1 insolent1 heartless manner4 ,if ,i had whipped him more and loved him less1 he would not have been leaving me to lodge with a ,god knows who4 ,i disown him6 ,the fool6 ,lady ,dol4 ,if you have anything to say1 blame me6 ,cyril has the noblest heart in the world2 ,i am the fool4 ,curtain4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,words in italics are surrounded by underscores1 like this4 ,greek words have been transliterated4 ,punctuation was standardized4 ,words in dialect1 obsolete or alternative spellings were not changed4 ,the following were corrected3 missing 'f' added to 'of' 444 implications of his speech 444 'allution' to 'allusion' 444 without catching the allusion 444 'needed' to 'heeded' 444 ,i had not heeded this 444 'undiscouragable' to 'undiscourageable' 444 ,my undiscourageable search 444 'snggest' to 'suggest' 444 reason to suggest that 444 'gasp' to 'grasp' 444 his grasp had been insecure2 444 'deing' to 'being' 444 he was being whirled through 444 'geos' to 'goes' 444 then goes out4 444 ',gardi' to ',guardi' 444 ,canaletti and ,guardi seen long ago 444 'waning' to 'waving' 444 elbows out1 umbrella waving1444 'allign' to 'align' 444 that hesitates to align itself 444 'poem' to 'poet' 444 upon the poet having conceived a passion 444 'requiees' to 'requires' 444 requires time and study4444 'upsettting' to 'upsetting' 444 would be more upsetting8444 missing 'l' added to 'small' 444 in a small house 444